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GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

SUBJECTS CONNECTED WLFH THE FAR EAST

GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

SUBJECTS CONNECTl'T) WITH THE FAR EAST

HERBERT A. GILES, LL.D. (Aberd.)

Profcs^sor of Chinese in the University of Cambridge
arid late H.I3.AL Consul at Ningpo

THIRD EDITION

LONDON

CURZON PRESS

ROWMAN cfc LITTLEFIELD

TOTOWA, N- J.

First published 1878
Second edition 1886
Third edition 1900

Curzon Press Ltd * London and Dublin
and

Rowman & Littlefield • Totowa • N. J.

ISBN

UK 0 7007 0041 2
US 0 87471 510 5

Printed in Great Britain
by Kir^print Ltd • Richmond Surrey

EXTRACT FROM PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION.

1 he following curious passage occurs in an able article
on The Anglo-Indian Tongue published in Blackwood’s
Magazine for May 1877: —

No man can ever expect to be appreciated in Anglo-Indian society until he has

caught up its shil)1)olcth, no matter how great his other accomplishments may be

In Madras the native domestics speak English of purity and idiom which rival in
eccentricity the famous pidgin English of the treaty ports in China; and the masters
mechanically adopt the language of their servants. Thus an Englishman wishing to
assure himself that an order has been duly executed, asks, “Is that done gone finished,
Appoo?” and Appoo replies in the same elegant phraseology, “Yes, sare, all done
gone finished whole.”

Now it is partly as a key to the shibboleth of Anglo-
Chinese society that this Glossary has been designed, though
to judge by the opening lines of the same article, which the
writer tells us would be perfectly intelligible in a Calcutta
drawing-room, there is no comparison between the phraseo-
logical difficulties in the way of new arrivals in the Far
East and those to be encountered by the “griffin” who
wishes to be appreciated in Anglo-Indian society. These
lines run thus :

Em dikk’ed to death! The khansamah has got chhutti, and the whole bangla is
ulta-pulta. The khldmatghars loot everything, and the masalchi is breaking all the
surwa-basans* and when 1 give a hukhm to cut their tallabs, they get magra and
ask their jawabs. And then the maistries are putting up jill-mills, and making such
a gol-mol (“pompon bobbery” in Japanese Pidgin-English,) that I say darwaza band
to everybody. But when all is tik, I hope you will tiff with us.

The translation of this is; — Em bothered to death! The butler has got leave, and
the whole house is turned upside down. The table-servants steal everything, and the
scullion is breaking all the soup-plates; and when T order their wages to be cut, they
all grow sulky and give warning. And then the carpenters are putting up Venetians,
and making such an uproar, that 1 am obliged to say “not at home” to everybody.
But when all is put to rights, 1 hope you will lunch with us.

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ABACUS or SWAN-P‘AN: — calculating tray. A

wooden frame in which are fixed a number of beads
strung upon parallel wires. It is used by the Chinese for
all kinds of arithmetical calculations. The system is one
of decimals, and the beads are divided into two sections;
the lower containing five beads, each representing i or
unit, and the upper only two, but each representing 5.
Thus, to write down i, one of the beads on the lower
half of the frame is pushed up to the division between
the sections, and so on up to four ; five is written by
bringing down a bead from the top section to the other
side of the division ; nine by pushing four up from below
and bringing down a five from above ; and ten by pushing
up one of the lower beads on the nearest left-hand wire
to that on which the calculator first chose to represent
his units, and so on. Very intricate calculations can be
performed by an expert on the swan-p^an^ and quite as
rapidly as with pen and ink, but with the signal dis-
advantage of not being able to work backwards in search
of a fault, each step disappearing as the work proceeds.

Abacus is from the Hebrew word abak (dust), tables
covered with dust having been used in early ages among

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the Jews for purposes of writing and calculation. The
abacus which replaced these originally contained six wires
with ten beads on each.

ABHIDHARMA : The philosophical section of Buddhist

literature. See Tripitaka.

ACCAD or AKKADIA. The south-eastern division of
ancient Babylonia, mentioned as a city in Genesis x.
lo. Its people appear to have been the originators of
Babylonish civilisation and of the earliest form of cuneiform
writing, which was vertical. They were also called “the
black-haired;” and from these and a few other points of
contact the late T. de la Couperie jumped to the conclusion
that Accad was the cradle of the Chinese race. The
following is a specimen of his arguments. He identifies the
monarch Nakhunte of Elamite history with the legendary
Chinese Emperor Nai Huang Ti. But Nai was a mistaken
reading published by the late W. F. Mayers in his
chronological tables. We are told in K^ang Hsi’s lexicon
that the character in question should be read Hsiung.

ACTOR. See Theatre,

ACUPUNCTURE: Has been known and practised

in China for the past 2,000 years.

AGAR-AGAR: The Malay term for a kind of sea-

weed (Fucus saccharinus),, used in China to express edible
sea-weed generally.

AIMAK: A Mongolian -tribe”

AINOS or AINUS: ^ — crab barbarians. The name of

a tribe of aborigines, also called Jebis, extending from Japan
to Kamschatka. “They pass their time in running up huts
“of leaves, planting vegetables, stitching skins and pieces
“of bark for clothing, and catching salmon, which they
“salt in huge quantities.’*

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The above two characters are used by the Chinese,
interchangeably with ^ ‘‘hairy people,” (Jap. mosin)
for the people of Yesso, who were believed to burrow in
the ground like crabs. The inhabitants of the island of
Saghalien are similarly called ^ — northern crab

barbarians.

“The original inhabitants, the Aino, are now only to be
“seen in the northern island of Yezo.” Adams.

Their numerals are : —

1 — Schnape

2 — Tupaisch

3 — Lepaisch

4 — -*Mede

5 — Aschkei

6 — U-an

7 — Aruan

8 — Topaishi

9 — Schnapaishi

lo — Wambi

“Aino, literally is the name by which the Ainos

“designate themselves.” B. H. Chamberlain.

Aino is also said to be a corruption of inu a dog.

ALCHEMY : ^ Has been practised in China

for many centuries. Dr. Martin {China Review^ vol. VII,
p, 242) would have us believe that “alchemy is indigenous
“to China, and coeval with the dawn of letters.” His
proofs however are drawn from works admittedly spurious,
and in one case (page 254, note 2) he quotes in connection
with alchemy a poem which refers only to the elixir of
life. Altogether it would appear that alchemy was unknown
in China before the 2nd cent. A.D., and its existence even
then is probably due to Greek influence.

ALEURITES: ^ — stone chestnuts. The fruit of the

A. triloba.^ a handsome tree belonging to the N. O. Euphor-
biaceae.^ and a native of Polynesia, southern Asia, and
some of the Malay islands. Is grown in the south of

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China, and the word frequently appears in the Hongkong
market list. The seeds are said to be aphrodisiac, and
yield an oil used for burning.

ALMARI. A wardrobe. Commonly used in India ; also
in Hongkong and the Straits. From the Latin armaritim
through the Portuguese almario.

ALMOND EYES: This is a common metaphor in

Chinese, and is not, as is usually supposed, the exclusive
product of the English language.

A-LUM. The famous Hongkong baker whose bread was
poisoned with arsenic by some person never discovered,
in the hope of destroying all the foreign residents in the
Colony: January 1857.

AMAH : pfj ti. A nurse; from the Portuguese ama. Used
in India of wet nurses only. In the north of China nia-ma
is frequently heard, meaning either mother or nurse, and
may be compared with the Sanskrit amnia which has the
same signification.

Ayah, also from the Portuguese aia^ is not common
in China.

AM AINU. Japanese name for the stone lions at the gates
of temples and elsewhere.

AMBAN: nn. A Manchu word, signifying governor.
Frequently applied by European writers to the political
representatives of China in Mongolia and Turkestan.

AMBER; ^ JjS . Believed by the Chinese to be resin,
which after lying in the earth for a thousand years is
changed into ^ ^ China Root fg.v.J, which in turn changes
into amber. It is mentioned in the history of the Han
dynasty as coming from Kophene or the modern

Cabulistan and Ta-ch‘in or Syria. Others say it is

made from burning bees-wax, while the Pcn-ts'ao explains

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it as ^ the soul of the tiger which goes into the
earth at death.

AMHERST’S EMBASSY, LORD. A mission dispatched
from England to China in i8i6, during the reign of the
Emperor Chia Chdng, with a view to putting trade upon
a more satisfactory basis. Among the Ambassador’s suite
were Sir G. Staunton, Dr. Morrison, and Sir John Davis.
Lord Amherst, however, refused to perform the kotow ^ and
returned from Peking without having seen the Emperor.
Bonaparte said that he thought “the English ministers
“had acted wrong in not having ordered Lord Amherst
“to comply with the custom of the place he was sent
“to, or that they ought not to have sent him at all....
“ It is my opinion that whatever is the custom of a nation
“and is practised by the first characters of that nation
“towards their chief, cannot degrade strangers who perform
“the same.” W, F'orsyth,

AMIDA BUDDHA. See Omcto Fu,

AMOK 07^ AMUCK. A term used by Malays to signify
an ungovernable state of mind, in which a desire to
murder is predominant. It has been supposed to be a
kind of monomania induced by di.sorder of the digestive
organs, but is frequently indulged in to gratify revenge.
A crowd will sometimes (as when Mr. Birch was killed)
raise a cry of “Amok, amok!” == “Ta, ta!” (qw.) in
China.

“An Amok took place last night, by a Malay, which
“resulted in the loss of his own life and the wounding of
“i6 persons. The Chinese in the Campong (q.v.) came
“forward, and this appeared to excite him to a violent
“degree. He ran amok among them, and wounded a
“number before he could be seized.” Straits Times.

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AMOOR or AMUR: ^ ^ >I — black dragon river.
Amoor = great river.

AMOY: H PI— gate or harbour of Hsia. Also known to
the Chinese as ^ — Egret Island — from the large

number of white egrets which annually frequent this
locality. It was one of the five ports opened by Nanking
Treaty of 1842, but visited by the Portuguese as early as
1544, and later on by the English until 1730, when trade
there was forbidden to all nations except the Spanish,
though as a matter of fact it continued much as usual.
Our word is from the local pronunciation of the first two
characters. See Ku-lang Su.

AMUY: Younger sister. Cantonese amahs frequently

give the above as their name^ whence results the edifying
spectacle of a European mistress calling her Chinese
nurse “sister.” As a rule, foreigners in China who do
not understand the language will do well to avoid names,
and address their servants as “boy,” “coolie,” or “amah,”
as the case may be. In one well-known instance a Chinese
valet said his name was Tek-koh, and his master forthwith
proceeded to call him so, i.e . — brother Tek.

ANESTHETICS: Said to have been first used

in the form of hashish by a famous surgeon named
^ Hua T'o who died A.D. 220.

ANALECTS : A name chosen by Dr. Legge for his

translation of the third of the Four Books (q.v.)^ containing
the Discourses of Confucius with his disciples and others.
The Confucian Gospels. They were compiled, according
to Chinese accounts, by the actual disciples of Confucius;
but Dr. Legge shews that it was more probably by their
disciples towards the end of the fifth or beginning of the
fourth century B.C.

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“The Book of Proverbs is not a whit better than the
“maxims of Confucius, so far as we know them.” Inman's
Ancient Faiths^ II. 761.

E. G. — “Love one another.” “Return g^ood for g-ood;
“for evil, justice.” “What you would not others should do
“unto you, do not unto them.”

“Let loyalty and truth be paramount with you. Have
“no friends not equal to yourself. If you have faults, shrink
“not from correcting them.”

“Man is born to be upright. If he be not so, and yet
“live, he is lucky to have escaped.”

“In mourning, it is better to be sincere than to be
“punctilious.” See Confucius.

ANCESTRAL WORSHIP. A Chinese religious ceremony
performed on stated occasions before tablets inscribed with
the names of deceased ancestors, and consisting of prayers,
prostrations, and offerings of food and paper-money to
the spirits of the dead. The early Jesuit fathers (q.v.J
tolerated this harmless custorn among the first converts to
Christianity ^ but the jealous rivalry of other orders brought
about a direct prohibition from Clement XL against the
established practice, a move which only resulted in the
ultimate collapse of Roman Catholic influence in China
and the subsequent persecution of all Catholic missionaries.

Abusive language is commonly used amongst the Chinese
in jest- but the line is drawn at a man’s progenitors,
whose persons or memories, as the case may be, are
always held strictly sacred. It is only in serious brawls,
when words have already given place to blows, that mutual
vilification of ancestors is heard, though relatives of the
same generation may be freely abused without fear of
disastrous consequences.

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ANDIJANI, THE. A term which has occasionally been
applied in the Peking Gazette to the late Yakub Khan or
Yakoob Beg ), once designated Ameer of

Kashgar, from Andijan the town in Kokand

whence he and many of his followers came. He has also
been styled “the An[dijani] chieftain.”

ANDON. The oil lamp of the Japanese, enclosed in a
square or circular frame covered with paper.

AN-HUI: — “Peace and Beauty.” One of the Eighteen

Provinces. So called from the first characters in the names
of its two largest cities, An-ch'ing Fu the

capital, and ^ Hui-chou Fu. Old name

ANNA. The sixteenth part of a rupee. Eurasians (q>v,)
are often spoken of as so many annas in the rupee,
referring to the proportion of “dark” blood in their veins.
Thus, “four annas in the rupee” would be the equivalent
of Quadroon,

ARGOLS. Cakes of dried camels’ dung, used in Mongolia
for fuel.

ARHAN or ARHAT: |S^ ^ — “deserving and worthy.”

The term applied by Chinese Buddhists to the 500 disciples
of Shakyamuni Buddha. Same as Lo-han,

The Eighteen Arhans, so often seen in Chinese temples,
are regarded as the personal disciples of Buddha. Sixteen
of these were Hindus, and two Chinese have been added.

ARIMAS. Japanese equivalent of “have got.”

ARIMASEN. Japanese equivalent of “no got.”

ARMS: Bows and arrows, swords, and spears, have

been employed in China from time immemorial. In later
ages cross-bows drawn and discharged by machinery,
huge ballistae, etc., were much used. Then came rude
matchlocks (see Jzngal),^ and cannon which the Jesuits

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(q.v.) taught the Chinese to cast, which state of things
lasted until after the war of i860 — 1861. In ancient
times, buff jerkins and armour were worn by combatants.

ARMY, THE CHINESE. Looks well on paper, consisting,
according to statute, of about 330,000 infantry in garrison,
200,000 infantry, and 90,000 cavalry, besides about 250,000
Manchus arranged under the Eight Banners (q.v.). Many
of these warriors, however, appear only on the pay-sheets,
and have no real existence.

“ARROW” CASE, THE. On Oct. 8, 1856, a party of
Chinese under an officer boarded a lorcha, called the
Arroiv^ in the Canton river. They took off twelve sailors
on a charge of piracy, leaving two of their own men on
the lorcha. The Arrow was declared by its owners to be
a British vessel. Our Consul at Canton, Mr. (afterwards
Sir Harry) Parkes, demanded from Yeh,the Chinese Viceroy,
the return of the men. Yeh contended, however, that the
lorcha was not an English but a Chinese vessel — a Chinese
pirate, venturing occasionally for her own purposes to fly
the flag of England which she had no right whatever
to hoist. The Arrow had somehow obtained British
registration, but it had expired about ten days before
the occurrence in the Canton river. As a matter of fact,
the Arrow was not an English vessel, but only a Chinese
vessel which had obtained by false pretences the temporary
possession of a British flag. Sir J. Bowring sent to the
Chinese authorities, and demanded the surrender of all
the men taken from the Arrow. He insisted that an
apology should be offered for their arrest, and a formal
pledge given that no such act should ever be committed
again .... Yeh sent back the men .... and he even under-
took to promise that for the future great care should be

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taken that no British ship should be visited improperly
by Chinese officers. But he could not offer an apology.
Accordingly Sir J. Bowring immediately made war on
China, and Canton was bombarded by the fleet which
Admiral Sir Michael Seymour commanded.

ASANKYA. A Buddhist number, extending to 141 places
of figures.

ATHALIK GHAZI. “Champion Father,” — a title conferred
in 1874 by the Ameer of Bokhara upon the celebrated
Yakoob Beg.

ATTAP. The dried leaf of the nipah palm, doubled over
a small stick of bamboo, and thus used in the Malay
peninsula for roofing houses.

AWABI. A kind of shell-fish found in Japanese and Korean
waters.

BABA. A local name for Chinese born in the Straits
Settlements, and for the children of foreigners. Used in
India as a respectful form of address towards a man of
the lower or middle classes. From the Turki baba father.
See Sinkeh.

BABOO. The Bengali equivalent of “Mr.”

BABY TOWER: Brick receptacles for children

of both sexes, below the age which qualifies for burial
in the usual way. The Chinese have been falsely accused of
depositing living children in these Towers. See Infanticide,

BADGES, MANDARIN : . Large pieces of embroidery

worn on official robes, the different grades of civil officials
being distinguished by various birds, those of military
officials by animals.

BAIL, Is personal, not pecuniary, in China. That is, if the
bailee absconds, the bailor has to take his place.

BAJU. The upper portion of the Malay dress.

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1 1

BAKA : —horse deer. A Japanese term of abuse

— Fool!

BAKIN, KIOKUTEI. A.D. 1767—1848. The famous
Japanese novelist, author of about 300 works, many of
which are very voluminous.

BALACHONG. A relish made of pickled fish. From the
Malay balachan.

BAMBOO: n. Originally ^nambti^ as known to the early
Portuguese settlers in India, and possibly a Canarese
word. Hence is said to be derived the word “bamboozle,”
the allusion being to a certain treacherous kind of swimming-
belt made of bamboo.

The bamboo is the common instrument for flogging
criminals in China, and consists of a strip of split bamboo
planed down smooth. Strictly speaking, there are two
kinds, the heavy and the light \ the former, however, is
now hardly if ever used. Until the reign of K'ang Hsi,
all strokes were given across the back ; but that Emperor
removed the locus opcrandi lower down, for fear of
injuring the liver or the lungs — a curious fact when taken
in conjunction with the statement by the late Dr. Ayres,
Colonial Surgeon at Hongkong, that flogging Chinese on
the back is apt to bring about congestion of the lungs
or other pulmonary complaints.

In point of utility to man the bamboo is probably
unrivalled. It is employed in the manufacture of almost
every conceivable object of household furniture or domestic
use, and is frequently spoken of as “the friend of China.”
Its varieties are numerous. The thorny bamboo YS
grows to nearly 50 feet in height, with a diameter of
from 2 to 3 feet. The speckled bamboo JS YS is prettily
mottled ; — it shaded the grave of the famous Shun (see

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Yao), and was thus marked by the tears of his two
disconsolate widows. A variety with a square stem grows
in the Fuhkien province.

A bamboo is the slang term for a wine-glassful of sherry
and vermouth in equal proportions.

BAMBOO BOOKS, THE ; 'ff 9 ^ A collection of
ancient writings inscribed in the Lesser Seal character on
slips of bamboo, and said to have been discovered A.D.
279. Among the rest was a copy of the Book of Changes
Bamboo tablets were commonly used in China
before the invention of paper.

BAMBOO CHOW-CHOW. “Stick food.” The pidgin-English
term for a thrashing, an idiom not altogether unknown either
in English or in the' elegant book-language of China:

“if you don’t, you’ll /iaz>e a
taste of the stick.” A Mahommedan who is bastinadoed
is said to be made to “eat stick.”

BAMBOO GROVE: A famous club, founded in

the 3rd century A.D. and consisting of seven members
-tl ^ of strong Bacchanalian tendencies. The most famous
of them was Liu Ling, who expressed a wish to be buried
near a pottery, in order that his body might re-appear
on earth under the form of wine-cups.

BAMBOO OYSTERS. A small and delicately-flavoured
species of oyster found at the port of Foochow. Large
bamboos are cut down and planted deeply in the water, the
ends being first fired to prevent decay*, and upon these stakes
the oysters collect in large quantities. Hence the name.

BAMBOO SHOOTS: Are given by the Chinese to

suckling mothers to increase the flow of milk. Europeans
eat them served like asparagus.

BANANA. See Plantain.

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BANGLE. A bracelet or anklet. From the Hindi word
bangree or bangri a bracelet of glass.

BANIAN BANYAN (i) The ficus wightiana^

Wall., common in China. (2) The name by which Hindi
traders are known abroad, eg. at Muscat and Zanzibar.
In this sense a corruption of Baniya or Vaniya, the name
of a trading caste in India with which sailors were early
brought into contact. In common with most other respectable
castes, its members abstain from flesh. Hence the old term
“Banyan days” at sea, sc. Mondays, Wednesdays, and
Fridays, when no meat was served out.

BANIAN CITY, THE ; A fancy name for Foochow,

from the number of banian trees which grow there.
BANNERS, THE EIGHT: ;\M The eight divisions
under which the Manchus are marshalled, first established
in 1814 to supersede the division of the Manchu army
under three nationalities. The banners are red, yellow,
white, and blue; four being plain (jE), and four bordered
(^) with a margin of another colour. Hence Manchus
are often spoken of as Bannermen. There are also eight
Mongol and eight Chinese “banners,” the latter being
descendants of those natives who assisted in consolidating
the Manchu dynasty. See Army,

BARBARIANS. The common Chinese designation for all
foreigners. By Treaty of Tientsin, 1858, it was agreed
that thenceforward one of the worst characters ^ i should
“not be applied to the government or subjects of her
“Britannic Majesty, in any Chinese official document issued
“by the Chinese authorities either in the capital or in
“the provinces.” Art. LI.

The use of this term has now almost disappeared
amongst the people as well; but only to be replaced

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by such synonymous words as fan and 2 , by

% ^ mao tzu (q.v.), by ktiei-tzu “devils,” etc.

etc. The character ^ fan^ which is quite as disrespectful
as the Treaty-tabooed ^ i \ may still be seen in use all
over Hongkong, and is often publicly placarded before the
shops of Chinese tradesmen, washermen and others. Another
term is “red-haired barbarians” explained in

the History of the Ming dynasty ^ to be a common
name for the Dutch But the most curious title

of all is that frequently bestowed by the people of Swatow
and its neighbourhood upon the various foreign Consular
officers residing there. They are called “Jesus mandarins”
5|J ® , shewing, in this instance at any rate, how

intimately the masses of China connect the presence of
foreigners among them with other objects than that of
legitimate trade alone.

Of the term nK yang jen “men from beyond the
sea,” now generally accepted on all sides as the best
equivalent for “foreigners,” it is only necessary to say
that, as far as mere phraseology goes, these words by
no means place us on an equality with H A “the
men of the Middle Kingdom,” though infinitely superior
to K “outside nation men,” an expression which

has a force peculiarly its own. mm A “ men of the
western nation” is the least objectionable of all, now
generally understood to include citizens of the United
States ; and if ^ is prefixed, the term becomes as
respectful as the most exacting can require.
BARBARIAN EYE: ^ An opprobrious epithet applied

I It is worthy of note that Tso Tsung-t^ang, in his last memorial on coast
defence, spoke of foreigners collectively as ,

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by the Chinese authorities to Lord Napier, on his arrival
at Canton as Superintendent ot Trade, 1834. The word
“eye” here simply means “head.” Cf. « B the head
constable.

BARBER BOAT. A small kind of paddle boat, something
like a canoe and occasionally called a dugout^ is known
to foreigners under this name at Canton. The Chinese
call them simply sampans, in common with the more
usual form that passes under that designation. The word
“barber” has no particular raison d'etre^ except that
formerly the barbers who attended the shipping at Whampoa
during the palmy days of that now deserted port, were
in the habit of using the kind of boat that still goes by
this name.

BARGAIN-CHOPS. Are scrip used by opium merchants
and is.sued to persons buying the drug “to arrive”
on time, A deposit of money is given in return, and the
transaction becomes favourable or unfavourable to the
holder of the scrip according to the difference (more or
less) between the price named on the scrip and the actual
market rate on the date fixed for delivery of the drug.
For instance, if in the interval opium goes up in price,
the holder has to pay to the issuer of the scrip the
difference between the original rate and the market rate
on the day named for delivery of the purchase, and vice
versa. But there is very frequently no opium whatever
present in the transaction, the drug being merely used
as an imaginary basis for this kind of gambling; though
the buyer has always the right to demand delivery of
his consignment, and by doing so is not unusually able to
place the speculative seller in a very awkward position.

“If history repeats itself, why will not the days of

1 6 A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

bargain-chops Ao likewise?” The China Mail: 27 Oct., 1877.

BARRIERS : P . Lesser or subordinate Customs’ stations,

placed along the inland trade-routes for the collection
of duties on passing goods.

BASCHPA. See Mongol.

BATS ; Five bats ( 3 t wu fit) are frequently seen painted
on Chinese plates. They stand for the Pive Blessings
wu fu) longevity, wealth, mens sana in corpore
sano^ love of virtue, and a peaceful end — the character
for bat being identical in sound with that for blessing.

BATTA. A Hindi word, correctly written bhatn^ meaning
an extra allowance to troops on service.

BAT‘URU: Q IH ^ . A Manchu word meaning “brave.”
Instituted as a kind of order by the t'mperor Shun Chih
)lM a rewarding military prowess ; but only bestowed
on such officers as have been previously decorated with
the peacock’s feather.

BAYAN: M- The famous Mongol general whose prowess

so greatly assisted Kublai Khan in his conquest of China.
The name is sometimes written ism pai yen or poh
yen — “hundred eyes,” from the extreme vigilance for
which he was noted. Marco Polo speaks of him as “a
“Baron whose name was Bayan Chingsan, which is as
“much as to say ‘Bayan, hundred eyes’,” and Col. Yule
adds, “Bayan (signifying great or noble) is a name of
“very old renown among the Nomade nations.”

BAZAAR. From the Persian bazar a market, in which
sense it is commonly employed in China.

BEAN-CAKE: or ^ 5 * The refuse of the bean

after all the oil has been expressed. Largely exported
from Newchwang and Chefoo to Swatow for manuring
the sugar plantations in that neighbourhood.

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

BEAN-CURD: ^ ® . A thick jelly made from beans, and
much eaten in the north of China. Yamen runners (q.v.)
are sometimes called “bean-curd officials’

BEASTIE or BHEESTY. A water-carrier; lit. “angel.”
Corruption of the Persian bihishti^ from bihist “Paradise.”
This is one of the honorific titles by which servants in
India speak of or to one another. The tailor is called
Khalifa “Commander of the faithful;” the sweeper is
called Mehtar “Prince (of the w.c.)” etc.

BEG: A title, equivalent to chieftain, in use among

the Chinese Mahommedans of Turkestan, etc. With this
term Sung-yiin (1823) has identified i:(l the rulers
of the Cossack tribes.

BEGGARS: VCd^ or . An organised fraternity, acting

under the orders of a head beggar for each particular area.
Shops which pay a fixed periodical sum to the Beggars’
Guild, exhibit in their shops the legend A
Great joy and plenty of trade. These characters are usually
written on a gourd, the emblem of beggardom. Other
shops are liable to visitations during business hours from
beggars with gongs, dead animals, or even snakes, who
remain until bought off.

BEGGAR KING, THE. A name given to the founder of
the Ming dynasty, A.D. 1368, in reference to his lowly
origin.

BEGUM. A Persian word meaning Queen or Princess.

BEILEH : ‘ The Manchu title bestowed on the sons

of the Imperial Princes of China. Often preceded by the
word zealous.

BEITSZE: The Manchu title bestowed on the sons

of a beileh.

BENKEI. The Hercules of Japan.

1 8 A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

BENTO BAKO. A Japanese luncheon box.

BERI BERI. See Kakke.

BETEL-NUT : ^ ^ pin lang — an imitation of the Malay
word pina7ig. The leaf of the sirih or betelpepper smeared
with chunam, or lime, and tobacco, and the nut of the
areca palm, chewed together by the Chinese and other
eastern nations.

BETTO. A Japanese horse-boy or groom.

BEZOAR: ‘ 4 ^^. A valuable substance found in the
stomachs of ruminant animals. Used by the Chinese as
a paint and a drug.

BHAR. A Malay weight = about 3^/2 cwt.

BICHO-DA-MAR BECHE-DE-MER : A large

kind of sea-slug much relished by the Chinese. Found in
the Pacific and Indian Archipelagos.

BIKSHU or BHIKSHU: JSi {fem. bikshuni M).

A wandering Buddhist mendicant, generally credited with
the power of performing miracles. From bhiksha to be^.

BILLAL. The Mussulman assistant preacher or parson of
a Malay village. See Khateeb.

BILLS OF EXCHANGE: ^ (or ® . Came into use
under the Emperor ^ ^ Hsien Tsung of the T‘‘ang
dynasty, A.D. 806 — 820, and were then known as
^ ^ money.

BIOGRAPHY. Has occupied a prominent place in Chinese
literature from the earliest ages. The various dynastic
histories since the time of Christ contain biographies of
all the eminent personages who figure in their pages.
The biographies of Emperors are written up daily during
the life of each monarch, who is not allowed to know
what will be published about him after death.
BIRDS’-NESTS: The gelatinous nests of a swallow

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(Hirimdo esculenta) found in the Malay archipelago, from
which is made the celebrated “birds’-nest soup.” The
nests are formed of a kind of seaweed.

BITESHI or BITGHESHI: A Manchu word

meaning scholar or clerk, the sound of which is imitated
by the above three Chinese characters. Those Manchus
who have passed the examination for biteshi are employed
as scribes in the public offices at Peking. Similar to the
Chinese shu-paji bit- he being the Manchu word

for a book.

BLACK CROWS. The followers of a Turkic chieftain who
assisted the Emperor Hsi Tsung of the T‘ang dynasty
to defeat the rebel Huang Ch'ao (A.D. 884) were so
called from their black uniform.

BLACK P'LAGS: Part of a band of desperadoes

who passed across the south-western frontier of China
after the T‘ai-phng rebellion. After having ravaged the
provinces to the north of Tongking there was a split in
the camp. The other portion essayed, under the style
of the Yellow Flags, to found an independent principality
at the head of the river Claire. The Black Flags, com-
manded by an able chieftain named j|ig Liu Yung-fu,

took up a position at Lao-kai and offered their services
to the Annamite government. Liu subsequently fought
for China against the Japanese in Formosa, 1894, but
with very indifferent success.

BLACK-HAIRED PEOPLE: A name for the

Chinese people (see Accad)^ because of their black hair.
This is the explanation given in K‘ang Hsi’s dictionary,
but its accuracy has been questioned by some European
scholars. Occurs in the Great Learning (q^v.) ch. x, 14:

“ preserve my sons and grandsons,

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“and black-haired people.” The name ^ “black heads”
was given to the Chinese by Shih Huang Ti, some

200 years before the Christian era.

BLOCKADE, THE HONGKONG. The establishment, by
the Chinese Superintendent of Customs at Canton, of a
system for the protection of his revenue from the great loss
entailed thereon by the smuggling of dutiable goods into
China in junks by native merchants from the neighbouring
island of Hongkong. Customs’ stations were accordingly
placed at IS ^j'| , and M ; and when

once a suspected junk was well outside the Hongkong
port limits, she was chased and seized by one of the
revenue cruisers employed, and if detected in smuggling,
vessel and cargo were confiscated.

BLUE (more correctly “blue and white”). A kind of Chinese
porcelain which is much prized in Europe and has an
especial charm for collectors from the fact that it cannot
be reproduced. Blue and white, i.e,, blue painting on a
white ground is to be found of all periods, some of it
dating from the time of the Mings. The merit of the
most ancient consists principally in the texture of the
porcelain and excellence of the designs. That blue and
white, however, which is most highly prized in Europe
is of a much later period, viz., K'ang Hsi and Ch'ien
Lung and in this the ground is of translucent blue,

the design being- in white. It is said that this particular
blue, which is certainly very beautiful, was produced with
pounded lapis lazuli, and certain it is that the best of it
has a decided resemblance in colour to that stone. The
Hawthorn pattern is of the greatest value in England, and
a good pot of this sort has a market value of, say £500.

BLUE-CAP MAH 0 MMP:DANS, THE: A

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2 I

name applied to the Jews, most of whom came to China
from Persia.

BO TREE, THE: i.e. the Bddhidruma or Tree

of Knowledge [ficus religiosa Willd.); also known as the
or Tree of Meditation. The original Bo tree
grew near Gaya in Bengal, and was so called after the
seven years of penance which Shakyamuni spent under
its shade before he became a Buddha. A slip of it was
taken and planted in the sacred city of Amarapoora, in
Burmah, B.C. 288. This is said to be in existence still.
Sir J. E. Ten net refers to historic documents in which it
is mentioned at different dates, as A.D. J82, 223, and
so on to the present day. There is another flourishing
specimen in the Buddhist temple at Pt. de Galles, also
said to have come from the parent tree at Gaya.

BOARDS, THE SIX: The Government offices at

Peking, nearly equivalent to our Admiralty, Treasury, etc.
They are —

1. — Li pu^ Board of Civil Office, which manages
the civil service of the empire, so called since 3rd
cent. A.l).

2. — Hit pit^ Board of Revenue, which collects
duties and taxes, and superintends fiscal arrangements
generally, so called since 7th cent. A.D.

3. — Li pu^ Board of Rites, which directs the
ceremonial observances, literary distinctions, etc. etc.,
so called since 10th cent. A.D.

4. ^ — LLng pu^ Board of War, so called since
7th cent. A.D.

5. — Hsiug pu. Board of Punishments, which is
entrusted with the due administration of the laws,
so called since 7th cent. A.D.

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6. m — Kung pu^ Board of Works, so called since
7th cent. A.D.

The Six Boards were known under the ^ Chin dynasty
as the W , and under the Sui dynasty their names
were (i) (2) (3) jjf^ (4) (5) ^ (6) ^ , the order

in which they are enumerated being also the order of
their relative importance. In addition to these names,
which are still in literary use. No. 2 is known as ^
Nung pu or ^ Min pu^ No. 4 as ^ ^ Hsi pu.
No. 5 as J:(l ^ Pipu or® ^ Hsi ts^ao^ and No. 6 as
Shui pu,

BOBBERY. From the Cantonese PB ^ a noise. Commonly
used in pidgin-English ; e.g. “What for you bobbery my?”
i.e., scold or abuse.

The term bobbery is a corruption of the Hindi Btip re
“O father!”

BODHISATVA : ^ ^ ^ iS or more frequently

P‘u-sa=one whose essence has become intelligence. A
being that has only once more to pass through human
existence before it attains to Buddhaship.' One who has
fulfilled all the conditions necessary to the attainment of
Buddhahood (and its consequent Nirvana), but from
charity continues voluntarily subject to re-incorporation
for the benefit of mankind. Of the Bodhisatva there are
three degrees: — he who attains quickly, less quickly, and
least quickly.

BOGUE, THE: — “Tiger’s Gate,” otherwise called

Bocca Tigris. The principal embouchure of the Canton river,
near which may still be seen traces of the celebrated
forts captured 26 Feb. 1842 by the British forces under
Commodore Sir Gordon Bremer. Bogue is a corruption of
the Portuguese rendering — boca tigre — of the Chinese term.

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BOHEA: Two ranges of hills in the province of

Fuhkien, from which the celebrated tea (q.v.) is procured.
Formerly, all tea was called bohea^ which is an imitation
of the sounds of the above two characters.

To part her time ’twixt reading and bohea^

To muse and spill her solitary tea.

Pope.

As some frail cup of China’s fairest mould,

The tumults of the boiling hohea braves,

And holds secure the coffee’s sable waves.

Tickell.

P'or if my pure libations exceed three,

I feel my heai't become so sympathetic,

That I must have recourse to black Dohea ;

’Tis pity wine should be so deleterious.

For tea and coffee leave us much more serious.

Byron.

BOMBAY DUCK. The bummelo or harpodon nekereus.^ a
small fish found on the coasts of India and in the
Archipelago, which, after being dried and salted, is toasted
and eaten hot with curry, etc. The Hongkong name is
“dried fish bellies,” but of the European term
we are unable to give any explanation. Bombay Englishmen
are spoken of as “Ducks.” See Ditcher.

BONJI : ^ ^ . The sacred characters of the Buddhist
scriptures. [Japanese.]

BONZE: (i) From the Japanese bonso a Buddhist

priest, generally used contemptuously.

(2) From bonji., the name of the writing of the

Buddhist scriptures, which was afterwards applied to the
persons who made use of it, viz. Buddhist priests.

(3) From bodzu^ these characters being used to

express the word “Buddha.”

BOUSY : M • A. Hindustani word, meaning saw-dust.

Used for packing balls of opium in chests.

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BOY. The common term in China for a servant, such as
a house-boy, office-boy, etc. It has been suggested that
this is a mere corruption of the Hindustani “bhaiee,”
which means a servant ; but it seems almost equally
probable that the English word has been adopted in the
sense of the French gargon.

“Ajeeb then said to the eunuch, Boy, I long for a
“little diversion.” [“The term boy is not used here to
“imply that the eunuch was a youth* but in the sense in
“which it is often employed by us ; as synonymous with
se7^va7it Lane’s Arabian Nights.

BRAHMANISM. The ancient Hindu religion, or religion
of caste, against the thrall of which Buddhism was a
protest. Its chief doctrine was that by severe penances
and torture of the body a man may acquire perfect
wisdom.

BRAVES : ^ . Chinese soldiers. So called because they
wear the above character which means “brave” upon
their backs, “Braves” are strictly speaking irregular levies,
called into existence and disbanded as occasion may
require; but among foreigners the word has come to be
used in the general sense given above.

BRICK TEA: ^ common kind of tea prepared

in the tea districts of Central China by softening refuse
leaves, twigs, and dust with boiling water, and then
pressing the compound into large slabs like bricks.
Subdivided into (i) Large Green, (2) Small Green, and
( 3 ) Black. Is consumed in great quantities in Siberia and
Mongolia, where it is also used as a medium of exchange.

“The Mongol tests the soundness of tea by placing a
“brick on his head, and pulling the extremities downwards
“with both hands; if the brick does not break or give,

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“it is sound; if it breaks or bends it is comparatively
“worthless.” — C. M. Grant.

BRIDGES: The earliest mention of a bridge in

China will be found in the Canon of Poetry.^ and refers
to a bridge of boats. Stone bridges, and even suspension
bridges, have been in use for many centuries. A fine
specimen of the former is to be seen at Foochow. It was
built about 800 years ago, is about V4 of ^ i^iile long
and 14 ft. wide. The Polam bridge, some 20 miles from
Amoy, is built of huge blocks of stone, the longest being
70 ft. by 6 ft. wide and 7 ft. in depth.

BRINJAL: A kind of egg-plant {solatium melo 7 ige 7 ia^

L.) found all over China. The name is derived from the
Portuguese bringella. Known in Bengal as ba 7 igu 7 i or
baingun.

BU : A Japanese silver coin equal to about i/qd, now

no longer in circulation. 4 b 7 i were equal to i rio or tael.

BUBBLING WELL: 'M 0 ^— eye of the sea. A well about
3 miles from Shanghai, near the ^ ^ Ching-an temple,
the water of which is mere drainage, the “bubbling” being
caused by the passage of carburetted hydrogen.

An ornamental wall has been built around the well,
bearing the following inscriptions : m “ The

“sixth of the springs under heaven” — (the other five being
in various parts of the empire); and ^ “The

“spot where the sutras were listened to,” — in reference
to a certain priest who lived hard by and recited the
Buddhist liturgies so eloquently that the very frogs sat
up to hear him.

BUDDHA: # lit or # K or # Literally, one who
knows or is awake ; hence, the enlightened, or he who
has perfect wisdom. Every intelligent being who has

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thrown off the bondage of sense, perception, and self,
and knows the utter unreality of all phenomena, and is
ready to enter into Nirvana. The first person of the
Buddhist Trinity.

The great founder of Buddhism, Prince Siddartha, known
as Shakyamuni Gautama Buddha, was born B.C. 624 at
Kapilavastu on the borders of Nepaul, and died in his
80th year. He was the son of a king; but renounced
the pomps and vanities of this wicked world to devote
himself to the great task of overthrowing Brahmanism,
the religion of caste.

BUDDHA, THE LAUGHING. A name for Maitreya
Buddha (q.v.).

BUDDHA, LIVING: A popular name for the

Hutukhtu (q-v.). Also applied ta very worthy persons.
BUDDHA, THE SLEEPING: . A recumbent figure

of Buddha, found in certain temples known as Sleeping
Buddha temples.

BUDDHA’S FINGERS: A kind of citron, almost

all rind, found on the tree. One end of it terminates
like a hand, with fingers. Used by the Chinese for scenting
rooms, at religious sacrifices, etc.

BUDDHA SHELLS: ^ Mussel-shells found in Siam,

containing one or more figures of a sitting Buddha, in
relief; and regarded by the simple as material evidences
of the truth of the Buddhist faith. The figures however,
are produced by human agency. Pious priests watch for
half-open mussels, and slip into their shells thin clay
images of the World-honoured One, over which the
mussel in process of time deposits a thick layer of nacre,
with the result described above.

BUDDHISM: ^ (or According to Buddhism there

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is no Creator, no being that is self-existent and eternal. Any
being whatever may be a candidate for the Buddhaship ;
but it is only by the uniform pursuit of this object
throughout innumerable ages that it can be obtained.
The power that controls the universe is karma^ literally
“action,” consisting of merit and demerit. There is no
immaterial spirit, but at the death of any being the
aggregate of his merit and demerit is transferred to some
other being, which new being is caused by the karma
of the previous being, and receives from that karma all
the circumstances of its existence. The cause of the
continuance of existence is ignorance. Hence, merit and
demerit, consciousness, desire, reproduction, disease, and
death. Thus there is a regular succession of birth and
death • the moral cause of which is desire, the instrumental is
karma. It is therefore the great object of all who would
be released from the sorrows of rebirth, to destroy the
moral cause. This may be accomplished by a course of
discipline, leading into one of the Four Paths and thence
to Nirvana fq.v.J. See Preciozis Ozies, Fhree.

The earliest appearance of Buddhism in China was
during the reign of the First Emperor, B.C. 259 — 210,
when certain Shamans, ^ ^ Shih-!i-fang and others,

who came to proselytise, were seized and put in prison.
They escaped however through the aid of ^ an angel
who appeared to them in the middle of the night and
opened their prison doors. Later, in A.D. 61, the reigning
Emperor is said to have had a dream, in consequence
of which he sent a mission to India and obtained the
services of Kashyapmatanga and Gobharana, who translated
the Sutra of Forty-two Sections. Buddhism was introduced
into Japan about A.D. 550.

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The Buddhism of China, Japan, Mongolia, Tibet, and
Nepaul, is known as Northern Buddhism, being the system
developed after contact with the northern tribes settled
on the Indus. Southern Buddhism is common to Ceylon,
Burmah, and Siam, and represents the primitive form of
the faith as it came from the hands of its founder and
his immediate successors.

BUDM ASHES. From dad “bad” and madsh “living.”
A Persian and Arabic compound term for rowdies or
professional bullies, occasionally used in China.

“. . .a local outbreak in the district of P^u-ch"eng,

where a band of budmashes under the leadership of a
man heretofore. . .” — N. C. Herald, 2Sth Oct., 1877.

BUGIS, THE. A race of people from the southern part
of the island of Celebes, now fouqd as colonists in Perak.
They are distinct from the Malays in point of language
and in intelligence, though very similar in appearance.

BUKIT. A Malay word meaning hill or mountain, commonly
occurring in names of places.

BUND. The common term in China for a quay, such as
those along the banks of the Seine in Paris, less the
parapet. The part alone of the bund at Shanghai which
fronts the British Settlement is some 3,500 feet in length
by sixty-five in breadth. Is the same Persian word which
appears in Cummerbund (g^v.J, and is common all over
India.

BUNDER. Any startling story or rumour which turns out
to be untrue. PTom bund (q.v.). French, canard. A
volume of Bunders was published some years ago in
Shanghai, containing several amusing skits upon local
celebrities, its forthcoming appearance being heralded by

an “ express’ Y^.z/.^_THE BUNDERS ARE COMING!

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The ponies for hire on the bund at Tientsin are also
called bunders.

Bunder (Pers. bandar') is used in Hindustani for a “port.”
Cf. the Bombay terms “bunder boat” and “Apollo Bunder.”

BUNGALOW. From the Hindi bungala. Strictly speaking
a one-storeyed, thatched house, generally surrounded by
a verandah. Also said to be derived from Bengal.

BURIy\T MONGOLS: A tribe of Mongols

subject to Russia.

BURLINGAME MISSION. A Chinese Embassy to foreign
States in 1869, under the leadership of Mr. Anson

Burlingame, then American Minister at Peking, as chief
Ambassador, with Mr. McLeavy Brown, then of H.M.
Consular Service, as Secretary of Legation and interpreter
to the mission ; the other important members being two
a.ssociate Chinese Envoys, Sun and Chih, both men of a
certain rank and position. This embassy is commonly
supposed to have been sent to Europe and America to
bring to the notice of governments China’s right, as an
independent power, to manage her internal affairs without
undue interference from outside. It was then that Mr.
Burlingame spoke of China as longing only to cement
friendly relations with foreign countries, and declared, in
a now celebrated phrase, that within some few short
years we should be gratified by the sight of “a shining
“cross on every hill” in the Middle Kingdom. But Mr.
Burlingame himself knew nothing of the Chinese language ;
hence probably the allusion in Inman’s Ancient Faiths
(I. 257), — “as completely as we should disbelieve a man,
“who, calling himself ambassador plenipotentiary from China
“to Britain, brings credentials written in English, and only
“speaks our mother tongue.”

30 A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

BURNING OF THE BOOKS. The First Emperor of the
Ch'in (^) dynasty issued instructions, at the suggestion
of his prime minister, that all records of previous dynasties
and all copies of all existing books, with the exception of
such as treated of medicine, divination, and husbandry,
should be forthwith burned. The advice was given partly
out of flattery to the Emperor from whose reign literature
would take a fresh start, and partly with a view of
strengthening the recently-established dynasty of Chdn.
At any rate it was immediately put into force as law,
about B.C. 2 12; and subsequently several hundred scholars
were buried alive for their disobedience in concealing
forbidden volumes. Thus perished many valuable works,
and it was only by accident -that the prohibited portions
of the Chinese Classics, hidden away by devoted enthusiasts,
were subsequently discovered and preserved for future ages.

A .second Burning of the Books was perpetrated by
7 C # the Emperor Yiian of the ^ Liang dynasty, A.D.
552 — 555, who is said to have destroyed one hundred
and forty thousand volumes of ancient and modern works.

BUSS. Stop! Can do! etc. Used in the Straits and in India.
From the Persian bas.

BUTTONS: or TM The knobs adopted by the

Manchu dynasty to indicate rank and worn at the top
of the official hat. They are : —

1. Transparent red button — ruby; for half dress, coral.

2. Opaque red button — coral; for full dress “flowered
“coral.”

3. Transparent blue button — sapphire.

4. Opaque do. do. — lapis lazuli.

5. Transparent white do. — crystal.

6. Opaque do. do. — stone.

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7. Plain gold button.

8. Worked gold do.

9. do. do.

These are of two classes, viz ; jE principal and ^
subordinate. The distinction lies in the latter being engraved
with the character for “old age” (see Show),^ the former
being plain. No. 9 has two of these characters, and is
the button which every one who has taken his first or
bachelor’s degree is forthwith entitled to wear.

CA MB A LUC. See Khambalu.

CAMBODIA. A once powerful and highly civilised state,
known as the kingdom of Khmer, which now forms part
of the French Protectorate in Cochin-China. Many colossal
ruins of great antiquity are still to be seen there ; but
the country was historically unknown previous to the 13th
century. The ruins of Angcor are of gigantic proportions,
and seem as though reared by the hands of a giant race
long since extinct.

CAMELS: The two-humped Bactrian camel is the

chief burden-carrier between the north of China and
Mongolia, and long strings of these animals may be seen
daily in the streets of Peking.

CAMOENS’ GARDEN. The celebrated spot at Macao
which is said to have been a favourite resort of the great
Portuguese poet of that name, author of the Lusiad.
Odes in the poet’s honour have been composed by Sir
J. E. Davis and others, and are now to be seen engraved
on tablets outside the grotto. The following are specimen
verses : —

Hie in remotis sol ubi rupibus
Frondes per alias mollius incidit
Fervebat in pulchram camcenani
Ingenium Camoentis ardens.

Davis,

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Gem of the orient earth and open sea,

Macao! that in thy lap and on thy breast

Hast gathered beauties all the loveliest
Which the sun smiles on in his majesty.

Bow 7' mg.

Patane! lieu charmant et si cher au poete,

Je n’oublirai jamais ton illustre retraite,

Ici Camoens au bruit du flot retentissant
Mela Paccord plaintif de son luth gemissant.

Afjonyfnous.

And one in Chinese :

“Surpassing others in genius and
virtue, because of jealousy he
suffered evil.”

“To commemorate his marvellous
poetry and his noble charac-
ter, this stone is now put
up.”

CAMPO, THE. The foreign settlement at Ningpo is so
called, the term being a corruption of jtC Kong po
(local pronunciation) north of river, i.e. the north bank
of the river on which the foreign houses stand.

CAMPOI: ^ — carefully fired, or selected for firing.

A selected variety of Congou tea. PTom the Cantonese
pronunciation of the above two characters.

CAMPONG. A Malay word meaning enclost^re. Generally
used for a village.

CANDAREEN : The hundredth part of an ounce of

pure silver. From the Malayan Kenderi^ which is one-
eighth of a wang and is represented in weight by a bean
of the Abrus precatorius.

CANDLES: Were first used in China in the 4th

cent. A.D.

A M
AA
jfe 0

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CANFU: The old port of Hangchow, visited by

two Arabian travellers in the 9th century, and by Marco
Polo in 1290, but now washed away or submerged.
An attempt however has been made to discredit this
identification in favour of Canton^ through the Chinese
Fu.

CANGO. See Kago,

CANGUE. The heavy square wooden collar — 7 iecktie yfc
, as the Chinese humorously call it — worn by criminals
for such offences as petty larceny, etc. Its maximum weight
is regulated by law, as also the limit of time for which
it may be imposed. It is generally taken off at night*,
but during the day the wearer must be fed by friends,
not being able to reach his mouth himself.

From the Portuguese canga^ yoke.

CANTON. A corruption of Kuang-tung ^ from the
Portuguese method of writing it — ka?nton. The capital
city of the province of Kuang-tung, said to date back to
the fourth century B.C. First visited by the British in
1637, but not formally opened to trade until 1842, under
the Treaty of Nanking. The Portuguese had arrived a
century earlier (1517); they were followed by the Dutch,
but by the end of the i 7th century the trade was almost
entirely in the hands of British merchants. Canton was
captured by the allied forces of England and France in
December 1857, and was held for about four years. The
city wall dates from the nth century, and has a circuit
of somewhat over six miles.

CAPITALS OF CHINA under the various dynasties.
Chdn, B.C. 249, at Hsien-yang in Shensi.

W. Han, „ 200, ^ Ch'ang-an „ „

E. Han, A.D. 25, „ 1 ^ Lo-yang „ Honan.

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE
Chin, A.D. 280, at 0 Lo-yang in Honan.

T‘ang,

Sung,

Yuan,

Ming,

Kiangsu.

Shensi.

Honan.

»?

Chehkiang.
Chihli.
Kiangsu.
Chihli.

E. Chin, „ 3171 » Chien-yeh

« 5^2, „ ^ Ch‘ang-an

904^ » 1 ^ Lo-yang

9 ^ 0 , » ^ Pien-liang

^^^ 9 > „ ^ Lin-an

V Yen-ching

^ ^ Nan-ching

H03> f, ^ Pei-ching ^

[Since 1403 the capital has been Peking, in spite of
the change of dynasty.]

CAPITAN: Malay corruption of the word

captain, the sounds of which are imitated by the
Chinese.

CAPOOR CUTCHERY: - « or H ^ or = ^ or #

A root found in Fuhkien and SsQch'uan, and powdered

for making plasters. The Indian name means “root of
camphor.”

CARAMBOLA : S. ^ ^ , vulgarly known as ^ (or ^

The curious polyagonal “Canton gooseberry” is so called
CARDS, PLAYING: mW- Are of various kinds, with
many varieties in the method of playing. In Peking, the
ordinary pack consists of ,6o cards. They are about
2 A X li inches in size, and have black backs so as not to
show the dirt. The date of their invention is not known.

, VISITING : . As used in China by men

y, are oblong pieces of red paper, about 5 inches in
ength, inscribed with the name and surname of the
owner. On the back, there is often an inscription in small
characters, stating that the card is only for ceremonial
purposes, meaning that it may not be used as a receipt
for letters or money, or in evidence of any business

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transaction. Han-Iin scholars of not less than three years’
standing are permitted as a. mark of distinction to use
larger-sized cards, inscribed with proportionately larger
characters written down the middle of the paper; but of
late years it has been customary for the high authorities
to use these in their intercourse with foreign officials.

During the period of 27 months’ mourning for a parent,
either the colour of the card is changed to light-brown, or
the characters “with a clod (for a pillow),” or “Si)

“statute,” are added to the name. Similarly, during the
year’s mourning for a grandfather or a brother, ^ (read
chi) is used ; and during the lesser period of 5 and 3
months, the character but in these cases the colour
is not changed. When visiting at houses where festivity
is the order of the day, the mourner, in deference to his
friends’ feelings, substitutes ^ §=“with you in your joy,”
for the characters above mentioned.

The form of visiting-card used between officials of the
same or similar rank is called a ; as handed by

an inferior to a superior, a ^ ^ . This latter is in effect
a petition, stating the rank and titles of the petitioner.
Red paper was first used under the Ming dynasty, when
the famous eunuch Liu Chin {d. A.D. 1510) was

at the head of the government ; before that time the
paper was white.

Women, instead of putting the surnames of the husband
on their visiting-cards, use the name of the family district.
Thus ^ ^ ^ “Mrs. Ying-chou, nee Ho,

presents her compliments” would be understood by every-
body to mean Mrs. Ch‘en, Ying-chou being the original
home of the Ch‘en family.

CASH: Fancy names W ^ , etc. From

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caixa^ the Portuguese name for the tin coin found at Malacca
in 1 5 1 1 and brought there from the Malabar coast. Cf.
Sanskrit k dr s/za. is said to be a Manchu term for

cas/i.] Now used of the only coin cast in China, one
thousand of which were originally equal to one tael or
Chinese ounce of silver. Each cash has a square hole in
the middle for convenience in carrying a large quantity;
hence the expression “strings of cash.” Hence, too, the
jeu-de~mots that a man should resemble a cash and be
^ ipr ^ ) [HI ^ ^ round i 7 i dispositiozi square m actiozi^
or, by reading the first character ^ — then, round iu
shape^ convenient for use.

Rare specimens are frequently worn as charms by
children and even by adults.

Copper cash seem to have been first coined in B.C.
136, previous to which time ^ pearl-oyster shells (old
form resembling an open shell) were used like cowries.
Some authorities date the coinage of cash as far back
as the Emperor ^ Ching of the Chou dynasty, B.C. 544.

CAT, THE: nnao. Cats, which are not mentioned in

the Bible, are referred to in the Odes (g.v.). The character
is said to be so written because rats injure cereal sprouts
[imao and cats catch rats! Dead cats are not buried,
but hung on trees. A cat washing its face portends the
arrival of a stranger. Its nose is always cold, except on the
day of the summer solstice. Kittens have great difficulty
in surviving the 5th day of the 5th moon. Directions
are often given in almanacs for telling the time by cats’
eyes, which have been observed to change between morning
and night.

CATALOGUE OF THE IMPERIAL LIBRARY: ffi

@ . A descriptive Catalogue of the books in

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE 37

the Imperial collection at Peking, published in 1782 by
order of the Emperor Chhen Lung. The works are
arranged under four heads as Classics, History, Philosophy,
and Belles Lettres, in 200 sections.

CATECHU. See CutcN

CATHAY. China. Said to be a Persian corruption of
mn. i-e. the Kitans who ruled northern China from
A.D. 1 1 18 to 1235 under the name of the ^ ^ Golden
Dynasty, and were so called from their tattooing. Marco
Polo always speaks of China as Kitai, and Tennyson
writes — “Better fifty years of Europe than a cycle of
“Cathay,” In reference to which it has, however, been
somewhat waggishly remarked that a Chinese cycle consists
of only 60 years.

CATTY : WJ fV ’ The Chinese pound=ri/3 lb. avoirdupois,
is so called. Catty, or kati, is a Malayan word for the
Chinese pound. N.B. Although the decimal system otherwise
prevails throughout the Chinese weights and measures,
the catty or lb. is, as with us, divided into 16 parts.

CAVAN 07^ CABAN. A grain measure used in the Philippine
Islands=3.47 cubic feet.

CELESTIAL EMPIRE. A common name for China, taken
probably from the phrase ^ ^ Heavenly Dynasty, which
has been for many centuries in use amongst the Chinese
themselves. Under the Han dynasty, China was often
called “Heavenly Han;” and generally speaking,

the epithet is a favourite one with the Chinese.

CENSOR ; W A member of the Censorate

umu, which is a body of men stationed at Peking
under two presidents, one Chinese and the other Manchu,
the officers of which are sent to various parts of the
empire as Imperial inspectors. They are privileged to

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censure the Emperor for any act which they consider
illegal, extravagant or unjust, without risk of losing their
lives, though they are sometimes degraded for unpalatable
advice. Also called “the ears and eyes” of the Emperor

CENSUS, THE. Is an old-established institution in China,
but is taken in a very irregular manner both as to time
and method. House-tickets are served out to the head
of every household in each ward, and he is responsible
for the return of all inmates, including lodgers; but as there
is no fixed day on which these tickets are returnable, the
results are approximate rather than exact. The population
of China has been recorded as follows : —

By Pere Amiot in 1743=150,265,475.

„ Lord Macartney, „ 1792=333,000,000.

„ Official Census „ 1813=360,279,897.

„ Sacharoff „ 1842=413,686,994.

CENT. The hundredth part of a dollar. From the Latin
cenhcm a hundred. Written or fill at Hongkong;

at Amoy; at F'oochow; at Shanghai »

CENTIPEDES : ^ 4 ^. Are common in most parts of China,
and especially in the south-western provinces. They are
much used in medicine, the “juice” of a centipede being
said to be good for thrush. Chickens eat them readily;
hence probably the popular notion that the saliva of a
fowl is a cure for centipede bites.

CHA-NO-YU or Hot Water Tea. An elaborate ceremonial
in connection with tea-drinking among political or literary
friends, practised in Japan at least since the early part
of the 15th cent., according to fixed rules and “in purity,
“peacefulness, reverence, and abstraction.”

CHAAM FA: Cocoons produced from eggs which

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have been kept over from the preceding year. They are
thin, and worth much less than others.

CHAA-SZE: — tea expert. A tea-taster ; or more

irreverently, a tea-gobber^ from the habit of spitting out
the tea tasted, instead of swallowing- it.

CHAI MUI : or A game played by two

persons at a Chinese dinner-party or on any other festive
occasion. The players look each other steadily in the
face, and simultaneously extend one hand showing all,
some, or none, of the five fingers stretched out, at the
same time crying out what each thinks will be the sum
total of the two sets of fingers thus exhibited. When
either succeeds in guessing aright, his opponent has to
swallow a cup of wine as a forfeit. Many fanciful formulas,
varying in different parts of the Empire, have been
substituted for the mere numerals which would sound
harsh to a Chinese ear. The following is an example of
one of these : —

one heart.

two f7'ie7ids.

H 7C

three firsts.^

four seasons.

. five sons.^

:k ^

six cardinals.*^

seven changeables.

AflU .

eight ge7iiis

A M

7iine long/

te7i co77iplete.

hands opposite;

the latter being used when one player holds out his closed
fist and expects his adversary to do the same.

“ Every Person shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding

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“Ten Dollars who shall utter Shouts or Cries or make
“other Noises while playing the Game known as Chat
^ Mui^ between the Hours of 1 1 p.m. and 6 a.m., within
“any District or Place not permitted by some Regulation
“of the Governor in Council.” — Ho 7 igkong Ordifiance^
No. 2 of 1872.

a. First on the list at the three great public examinations.

b. Alluding to the five sons of Tou Yen-shan who all
took high degrees.

r. The six cardinal points; — north, south, east, west,
above, and below.

d. The seven pieces of the Chinese puzzle.

e. The eight Immortals of the Taoist religion.

f. fL nine here stands for JA. long, in the sense of a
long life.

CHAIRS (SEDAN): ^ The Emperor alone is entitled
to employ 16 bearers for carrying his chair; a prince of
the blood 8 ; the highest provincial authorities also 8, a
privilege of which, however, they never avail themselves
except on occasions of religious or state ceremonial ; all
other officials down to a Prefect 4, including a District
Magistrate, if in office, but not if merely expectant ; below
this grade 2. A bridal chair is red ; that of all officials
down to and inclusive of the Commissioners of Justice,
Finance, and the Salt Gabelle — green; below

this, blue, with slight variations of detail. A Taot^ai’s
chair would strictly speaking be blue ; but he usually has
brevet rank as Commissioner of Justice, on the strength
of which he changes the colour to green. Foreign Consuls
in China use green chairs, as being the highest local
officials of their particular nationality, and by Treaty of
equal rank with Taot‘ais. Chinese etiquette makes it

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necessary to get out of a chair to speak with a passing
acquaintance. When two or more officials travel together,
the highest in rank takes the foremost chair-, were they
oh horseback the same official would be the second of
the file, a servant always riding in front to clear the way.
Within the city of Peking, only princes of the blood and
some of the highest officials are permitted to use chairs.

CHAM. A mediaeval corruption of Khan or

the title Great Cham of Tartary having been first applied
to Genghis Khan Dr. Johnson was spoken of

by Smollett as that “grim Cham of literature.” Has
occasionally been written Chane.

CHAMBER OF HORRORS; gt or ^ ^ — purgatory.
That section of every municipal temple ( which

contains models of sinners undergoing the various punish-
ments of the Taoist-Buddhist purgatory. The term is a
fanciful one, in imitation of the celebrated Chamber at
Madame Tussaud’s wax-work exhibition. For a full account
of the ten courts into which it is divided, with a description
of the tortures therein inflicted, see Appendix to Strange
Stories fro 7 n a Chinese Studio.

CHANDOO. (Malay.) Opium prepared for smoking.

CHANG: A Chinese measure=to 141 English inches.

CHANGES, BOOK OF: ^ Contains a fanciful system
of philosophy deduced from the combinations of the
Eight Diagrams (q.v.J. Possibly composed B.C. 1150 by
^ 3 E Wen Wang. Is one of the Five Classics
the text consisting of sixty-four short essays, enigmatically
and symbolically expressed, on important themes, mostly
of a moral, social, and political character, and based upon
the same number of lineal figures, each made up of six
lines, some of which are whole and the others divided.

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The text is followed by commentaries, called the Tat
Wmgs^ probably of a later date and commonly ascribed
to Confucius, who declared that were a hundred years
added to his life he would devote fifty to a study of
the Y^ik-king.

The following is a specimen ; —

lYxt. The first line, divided, shows one moving his
great toes.

The fifth line, undivided, shows one moving the flesh
along the spine above the heart. There will be no occasion
for repentance.

Whig. He moves his great toes; — his mind is set on
what is beyond himself.

He moves the flesh along the spine above the heart;
— his aim is trivial.

CHARACTERS, CHINESE: ^ since the reign of the
First Emperor, 3rd cent. B.C.; before that time ^ or
They are symbols of ideas, abstract and concrete. They
are neither agglutinative nor inflexional, but vary in
grammatical value as verb, substantive, or adjective, with
their position in the sentence. K'ang Hsi’s (q.v.) lexicon
includes more than 40,000 separate characters, the origin
of which appears to have been this : —

A few’ simple shapes of visible objects were followed
up by others more or less easy to be identified, until the
impossibilities of a wholly pictorial language gave place
to the phonetic system upon which the present characters
are based. Thus, the ancient Chinese drew a rude picture
to represent the sound by which they designated a horse,
viz: 7 na. But with a very limited number of vocables

it followed that the sound ma^ with differences of intonation,
did duty in the spoken language for other ideas, as ma

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

mother, jna agate, ma a locust, ma prawns, ma to curse,
7 ?m the head of a bed, etc. By the phonetic system, the
Chinese wrote down each of the above as ma horse, and
then added a distinguishing symbol on the left, now known
as the radical (q.v,). The new combinations formed would
read thus: Woman-horse=mother •, jade-horse=agate •,

4 ^ insect-horse=locust • fish-horse==prawns ; mouth-
horse=to curse ; wood‘horse=head of a bed. In many
cases these composite characters became the phonetics
of other sets of characters, distinguished in like manner
by appropriate radicals ; besides which there is a small
class of so-called “ideographic” characters, where the
sense of the component parts yields the sense of the
whole; a tree, a forest, and ^ dense, obscure ;

f[^ western-nation-man, sc. Buddha. See Seal Character.

CHARPOY. xA. bed. Term used in India and the Straits.
From the Persian chihar-pai four-footed.

CHAYA. A Japanese tea house.

CHEE-CHEES. Anglo-Indian term of contempt for Eurasians.
P'rom a native expression of disgust.

CHEFOO: or A small headland on the

coast of the Shantung province, which has given its name
to the celebrated watering-place and sanitarium of China;
though as the foreign settlement lies close to the hill
and village of Yen-t^ai (j!® § — Smoke Terrace), this
would be its more appropriate designation. Was occupied
instead of Teng-chou, which was opened to trade

by Treaty of Tientsin 1858 but possessed no suitable
harbour.

CHEFOO AGREEMENT, THE. A still unratified settle-
ment of the Yunnan outrage (q^v.) arranged at Chefoo
between Sir Thomas Wade, K.C.B., and H.E. the Grand

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Secretary, Li Hung-chang, in September 1867. Popularly
known as the Chefoo Convention.

CHEHKI ANG : V^lj or ^ 'jjL — crooked river. One of the
Eighteen Provinces. So called from the Che river which
traverses its southern part. Capital city Hang-chou Fu
Old name

CHEIROMANCY. See Palmistry.

CHEMULPO: ^ ^ 7^. A port in Korea opened to trade
by Treaty of 26th November 1883.

CHESS. Has been known to the Chinese for many centuries
under a form not very unlike our own game. The board
has 64 squares, is played with 16 men on each side,
the two at the corners having equal power, and the next
two (called horses) having a move equivalent to that
of our knight. The chief differences are that the Chinese
adversaries are separated by a river, over which some
pieces cannot pass, while the “King” is confined to a
square of nine moves only; and that the pieces are placed
upon the intersections of the lines forming the board,
instead of on the squares.

CHETTIES. The usurers or money-lending section of the
Klings (q.v.).

CHd. See Doctrine of the ChH.

CHdEN : 1 ^. (i) A mace, or tenth part of a Chinese
ounce. (2) Cash\ money.

CHdEN LUNG: — enduring glory. The style of reign

adopted by the great Emperor who ruled China from
1736 to 179b- Fourth of the present or Manchu dynasty.
Received Lord Macartney’s embassy 1794. Same as the
Kien Long mentioned in De Quincey’s magnificent essay
— The Revolt of the Tartars — and elsewhere.
CHdEN-LUNG: ^ ^|| — cash dragon. The harmless “hundred

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“legs,” so common in northern China - not to be confounded
with the centipede Called “cash dragon” by the

Chinese, because supposed to resemble a string of cash,
and therefore regarded as rather an auspicious visitor.

CHIH-FU OR CHE-FOO : ^ ’'^ho administers the

fu or prefecture. The Prefect. [See Fu\ Has the general
supervision of the civil business in his own prefecture.

CHIH-HSIEN, CHI-HEEN, CHEHIEN: ^ he who
administers the hsien or District. The District Magistrate.
P^amiliarly called the “father and mother” of the people,
(in common with Prefects), because of his close relations
with them. Is responsible for the peace and order of his
District. Has summary jurisdiction in civil and criminal
cases; and as Coroner is bound to hold an inquest in
all instances of death under unusual circumstances. Is
directly subordinate to the Prefect [see Chih-f 24 \ ; sometimes
to the Magistrate of an Independent Department. All
transfers of land must be stamped with his seal.

CHIHLI: ^ — direct rule. The most important of the

Eighteen Provinees, So called because from this province
(i.e. from Peking) emanates the supreme power which
governs the empire. Capital city Pao-ting Fu ^ ^ jfj*
Old name .

CHIKAMATSU, MONZAYEMON. The Japanese Shake-
speare, A.D. 1653 — 1724, said to have been a priest in
early life. The selected edition of his works contains fifty-one
plays, almost all of five acts; and he rivalled the fame of
Lope da Vega by composing an entire play in a single night.

CH 4 LIN. See Kilin.

CHIN-CHIN. A corruption of the Chinese salutation ^ nW
chHug ch^ing^ which answers to our good-bye, presents
compliments, etc. To “chin-chin Joss” is to perform

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religious worship of any kind. The Chinese, however,
regard the expression as purely foreign, and are quite
unaware that it is a mere imitation of their- own term.

CHIN-SHIH: dt — the entering scholar. Graduate of the

third or doctor’s degree, the examination for which is held
once in every three years at Peking, whither intending
candidates proceed from all parts of the empire. Only c/iu-jen
(q.v.)^ who have not already taken office, are allowed to
compete. This degree was established in the year A.D. 606,
under the reign of the first Emperor of the Sui dynasty.

CHIN-WANG-TAO or CH'IN-HUANG-TAO

A Treaty Port in the Gulf of Peichili, between the mouth
of the Peiho and Shan-hai Kuan.

CHINA. The Chinese themselves have no term for their
country which can be identified with this word. It may
possibly be derived from the name of a dynasty — Chdn or
Ts 4 n ^ — which flourished B.C. 255 — 207, and became
widely known in India, Persia, and other Asiatic countries,
the final a being added by the Portuguese. Chinese
Buddhists write the Indian name Chih' 7 ia • also

^ M Chen-tan^ the last syllable being intended for the
Sanskrit stan a country. This word, in the sense of
porcelain, was fashionably pronounced in England during
the 1 8th cent, as chaney.

CHINA CLAY. A fine white potter’s clay, known to the
Chinese as kao lin (q.v.)^ derived from the felspar of
disintegrated granitic rocks and used in the manufacture
of porcelain by the Chinese.

CHINA CONSUL, THE. The Magistrate of the Mixed
Court (q.v.) at Shanghai is so called, being often addressed
as “ Consul in open Court. He is actually so styled
in the Hti-pao of 12 July 1884.

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CHINA GRASS J^i. The textile fibre of a hemp-producing
plant i^BceJuiieria nivea^ Hook, and Arn.) from which
grass-cloth is made.

CHINA ROOT: it ^ A false tuber (Pachyma cocos)
found growing like a fungus from the roots of fir trees.
Used medicinally by the Chinese.

CHINA SODA. Pidgin-English for alum.

CHINA STRAWBERRY. Pidgin-English for the fruit of
the arbtitus.

CHINA’S SORROW. The Yellow River or Hoang Ho (q^v.).
So named by the Emperor Tao Kuang because of the
devastion caused by its oft-recurring floods. Has frequently
been known to change its bed; especially in 1856, when
instead of emptying itself into the Yellow Sea about
lat. 34°, this huge river turned off at right angles near
the city of K‘ai-feng P"u, the capital of Honan, and found
its issue in the Gulf of Peichili, lat. 38®.

CHINESE GORDON. See T^ai-ping.

CHING: (i) The Buddhist sutras. (2) Taoist writings

which have been ‘‘canonised.” (3) The Sacred Books of
China, of which only five are recognised as such under
the present dynasty, namely: —

1 — Book of Changes, ^

2 — do. History, §

3 — do. Poetry,

4 — do. Rites, /T^ iB*

5 — Spring Sz: Autumn

The character ^ means text\ but “Canon,” in the
ecclesiastical sense of the term, is the best rendering.

CHINKIANG: — guard the river. A treaty port, and

prefectural city in the province of Kiangsu, near the

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junction of the Grand Canal and Yang-tsze. Opened by
Tientsin Treaty 1858. Was captured by the British forces
in 1842, and by the T'ai-pdng rebels in 1853, from whom
it was retaken in 1857. It is sometimes called ^ fH
Mouth of the Capital, in allusion to the tribute rice wdiich
was formerly sent via Chinkiang up the Grand Canal
to Peking.

CHIT. F'rom the Hindi word chitthi a letter, specially used
of letters of recommendation given to servants. Used in
China for all kinds of letters, notes, pencil scraps, I.O.U’s,
etc., etc.

CHIT-BOOK. The book which in China invariably accom-
panies letters or parcels sent, in order that the receiver
may sign his initials against the entry relating to himself,
as a proof to the sender of due delivery.

CHO: ©r. A Japanese measure equal to 60 ken (q^v,) or
360 feet English. Also, land measure of 3,000 tsiibo (q ro.).

CHOGOLGAN. A league or association of Mongols.
CHON NOOKEE. See yon-nukc.

CHOO HE CHU-FU-TZU : ^ . The great critic,

historian, poet, and commentator on the Chinese Classics,
A.D. 1130 — 1200. His is the system of interpretation
which obtains at the present day, its secret being nothing
more than uniformity of exegesis. He refused to interpret
the same combination in various ways merely to suit the
supposed exigencies of the text. It is related that after
death his coffin was seen suspended in the air, three feet
from the ground, until at length his son-in-law approached,
and kneeling down cried out “ Master ! the holy doctrine
“of Confucius should be paramount — ig

implying that supernatural manifestations ill
befitted a disciple of the materialistic Sage. The coffin

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then descended, and resumed its original position. See
Mirror of History.

CHOP or A mark, number, or brand. Hence

a cLof of tea means a certain number of chests of tea
all bearing the same brand. A trade-mark or trade-name,
imitation of which is not allowed in China, the rule being
now extended to the trade-marks of foreign merchants.
Anything is said to be first chop when it is of first-rate
quality. “But oh, you should see her ladyship’s behaviour
“on her first-chop dinner-parties, when Lord and Lady
“Longears come.” Thackeray. Put your chop on it=put
your seal or stamp on it. Also see Bargain Chop^
Security Chop^ etc.

Said to be derived from the Cantonese pronunciation of
^1] to puncture. But chhdpnd is the Hindi verb for
“to stamp.” Thus, chdpd khdna is “a printing-office.”

CHOP. A hulk, in which in the old days foreigners used
to reside.

“The Australian mail steamer Brisba^ie^ which has
“been anchored a little westward of the Police Chop^ in
“getting up her anchor last evening to leave the port,
“found it foul of the chop moorings.” Hongkong Daily
Press., 9 Oct, 1877.

CHOP, THE GRAND: U ^ or The port clearance

granted by the Chinese Customs when all duties have
been paid is so called, because formerly it was the most
important of the chops (q>v.) known to foreigners. It is,
literally, red chop, from the large vermilion official seal
upon it; and this name is sometimes used by merchant
captains and others.

CHOP-BOATS: ® JR IJS . Lighters or cargo-boats. Literally,
“water-melon boats,” from the resemblance of tl^^^j^of

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to half a water-melon. The last character is sometimes
wrongly written ^ .

CHOP CHOP. The pidgin equivalent of “make haste.”
From the Cantonese pronunciation of ^ ^ — cup cup,
“quick, quick!”

CHOP-DOLLAR. A dollar chopped or stamped with a
private mark as a guarantee of its genuineness. Many
dollars are quite defaced by the repetition of this process ;
hence the phrase chop dollar face for a man deeply
pitted with small-pox. A stand has recently been made
in Hongkong against this practice which is confined to
Chinese firms in the south of China only. Sometimes
these dollars are chopped until the middle is broken out,
leaving a large hole. They are then called “spectacle
dollars.”

CHOP-HOUSES. Customs’ stations between Whampoa and
Canton were formerly so called, from the chops or seals
there used.

CHOP-STICKS: hasteners. Vulgarly written

In the book-language or “helpers.” The bamboo
or ivory sticks which take the place of knives and forks
among the Chinese. The native term has been absurdly
rendered “nimble lads,” from a misconception of the value
of the second character. It is said by ^ UJ , a former
Minister of State, to have been substituted for ^ , which
has the same sound and tone as H to remain, and is
accordingly an inauspicious word for travellers and others
who would rather “hasten” home.

CHOSEN : ^ ^ . The Japanese-English transliteration of
the two characters which form the Chinese official name
of Korea fg.v.J.

CHOTA HAZRI. The “small breakfast,” or the early tea

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and toast. Recently extended to 12 o’clock breakfast, as
commonly taken in China. Corrupted form of the Hindi
chhoti hazri,

CHOU HAN: . A native of Hunan, who has

distinguished himself of late years by leading a violent
crusade against foreign missionaries in China, coupled with
the publication of much disgusting anti-foreign literature.

CHOW or CHOU: M A celebrated dynasty which lasted
from B.C. 1122 to B.C. 255. The Chow le ^ , or

“Chow Ritual,” an elaborate detail of the various officers
of the Chow dynasty with their respective duties, is
assigned to this period.

CHOW CHOW-CHOW. Food of any kind. Pidgin
term invented by Europeans probably in imitation of
Chinese sounds. A chow-chow amah is a wet nurse. To
“chow-chow Joss” is a phrase which illustrates both the
adaptability and the undesirability of pidgin-English as a
means of communication with the Chinese.

CHOW-CHOW. A preserve in syrup, made up of odds
and ends of orange-peel, ginger, pumelo-rind, and leavings
generally from the preparation of other preserves. Hence
chow-chow pickle, which means nothing more than “mis-
cellaneous” or “assorted.”

CHOW-CHOW (of cargo). Miscellaneous, as opposed to
staples. “He’s a chow-chow man”=a dealer in all kinds
of goods, such as matches, musical-boxes, photographs,
etc., etc.

CHOW-CHOW WATER. Same as our nautical term race.
An overfall of water produced by strong currents dangerous
to small boats. Also used of eddying water. Origin of
phrase unknown.

CHOW FAH, “Celesrial Prince.” The child of a king of

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Siam by a wife who was herself the daughter of a king.
Children by other mothers are Phraong Chows, Daughters
of princes are Maum Chows,

CH‘OW-FANG: — take measures for defence. The

“defence tax.” Originally \inown Hui- fang — ^join

in defending.' Was first imposed, in the shape of a
voluntary capitation tax, for the recovery of the city of
Soochow, taken by the T‘aiphng rebels May i860; and
subsequently continued, under its changed name, as a
tax upon inland trade, chiefly in the neighbourhood of
Shanghai.

CHOWRY : ^ ^ or ^ ^ . From a Hindi word meaning

fly-brush. Specially applied to the Buddhistic emblem,
which is generally a yak’s tail and is commonly used in
China as a fly-flapper ^ 4 S|. The chowry, under the
Chin ^ dynasty, was the distinguishing mark of a great
conversationist.

CHRONOLOGY, CHINESE. Begins, according to the
historian Ssu-ma Chhen, with the Yellow Emperor, B.C.
2697; but B.C. 1,000 may be roughly fixed upon as the
earliest date of which there remains any satisfactory record.

CHRYSANTHEMUM: ^ Has been a favourite flower
in China for many centuries, though without any special
significance. The Imperial badge of Japan was long
regarded as a sixteen-petalled chrysanthemum; Mr. Haite,
however, has recently shown that this so-called flower
is really a device representing the sun.

CHRYSE. A term vaguely applied by Ptolemy to the
border regions of Indo-China.

Col. Yule says “Chryse is a literal version of the
“Sanskrit Suvarnabhumi, or Golden Land, applied in
“ancient India to Indo-Chinese regions.”

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CHU HSI. See Choo He.

CHUANG YUAN: The first on the list at the

final contest for admission to the Han-lin Academy (g.v.)
between candidates successful at the great triennial
examination for the chin-shih or doctor’s degree. This
examination is called ^ , because held within the

palace at Peking • and the position of a chuang yuan may
be compared with that of a Senior Wrangler, as being
the first man of his year. It was instituted under the
Empress who ruled China from A.D. 684 to 705, when
the title of the first candidate was also mm.

CHU-JEN: $ A — the raised man. A graduate of the
second or master’s degree, the examination for which is
held triennially at all the provincial capitals. First created
under the T‘ang dynasty, during the reign of the Emperor
T'ai Tsung, A.D. 627 — 650. The name, however,
goes back as far as the Han dynasty.

CH‘UN CHdU. See Spring and Autumn Annals.

CHUN AM. A Sanskrit word meaning lime. A mixture of
lime, oil, and sand, used in China for paving yards,
paths, racquet-courts, etc.

CHUSAN: Ul — boat island. So called because it was

thought to resemble a boat. Occupied by the British
forces in 1842. Lies off the mouth of the Ningpo river.
Towards the end of the i 7th century the East India Company
established a factory here, but met with no commercial
success, and abandoned it only a few years afterwards.

CHUTNEY. A Hindi word (chatni), meaning a. kind of
pickle.

CLANS (Chinese); or Hamlets, villages, and

sometimes even country towns, are inhabited by people of
one common surname and ancestry, forming a tribe or clan.

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CLASSICS, THE. A term which is applied by foreigners
to what would be more appropriately called the Sacred
Books of China (see Four Books and Ching). These
were diligently sought out and recovered some few years
after the Burning of the Books (q^v.)^ and were formed
into a Canon, the whole being engraved on 46 tablets of
stone under the superintendence of a scholar and statesman
named Ts'ai Yung about A.D. 172. See Printing.

CLEPSYDRA, THE: . A water-clock or arrangement

of several 'water-jars, the regulated leakage from which
is shown upon a bamboo index. This method of keeping
the time seems to have been known at a very early
date; the term however does not occur in literature until
about B.C. 100.

CLOISONNE;. The French term for enamel (q.v.)'.^ so called
because of the cloisons or partitions of metal by which
the colours are divided.

COCHIN CHINA, (i). This country was, under the Han
Dynasty, subject to China, and constituted the ^ Sit
(«?r| 5 ik) which name, as pronounced in Canton — Kau-
chi — seems to represent with sufficient accuracy the modern
Cochin. See Kiao-tchi.

(2). From Kowchin iim a name for Annam and
Cambodia.

COCK, THE. Is highly esteemed by the Chinese as possessing
five excellent qualifications. He wears a hat (comb) like
a civilian ; he wears spurs like a soldier ; he is brave in
fight ; he is chivalrous towards his hens ; and he is
faithful in announcing the dawn.

COCK-FIGHTING: Was practised in China some

five hundred years B.C.

COCOON : ^ ^ . Has been derived from the Latin coccum.^

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a berry, through the Italian coccone\ but is more probably
a derivative of the French cogue ^ shell.

Pierced cocoons, or those through which the insect has
bored its way out, are called ^

CO- HONG. See Hong Merchants.

COIR: The fibre of cocoa-nut; also prepared from the

bark of the hemp palm. Much used in China for ropes,
brooms, mats, fly-brushes, etc.

COLANSOO. See Ku-lang-su.

COLAO: — cabinet elder. A Secretary of State under

the Ming dynasty. Thus written by the Jesuit missionaries.
COLOURS

Yellow : the Imperial colour. Princes of the blood have
yellow ropes for their sedan chairs (see Girdle). Red:
the official colour of China under the Chou dynasty. The
emblem of joy. The colour of ordinary visiting cards,
mandarin seals, bride’s dress, bridal chair, etc. White :
emblem of mourning. White hats and white shoes are
never worn except as mourning. Blue : At the death of
an Emperor all official seals are stamped in this colour,
and the paper of scrolls, etc., on doorposts is also changed
to blue (or black and white). The ordinary colour of the
chair (q.v.) of a mandarin below a certain rank. Green:
The colour of the chair of a mandarin above a certain
rank. Light Brown : colour of visiting cards when in
mourning. After some time has elapsed, a small piece of
paper of this colour, with the name inscribed, is pasted
in the middle of the usual red card. Mauve : is used for
the seals of the highest authorities. Black : is almost
tabooed, as significant of evil. Black fans are used only
by old people who are supposed to be beyond the reach
of bad influences. Prisoners under the Han dynasty wore

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black clothes. Official underlings are called the “black
band.” Devils are always depicted with black faces.
Dragon-boats (q.v.) are of all colours except black. Opium
is called “black dirt,” and “to be stained black” is to
be addicted to the pipe.

COMMANDMENTS, THE TEN : + ^ (Buddhist).

1. Thou shalt not take life.

2. „ „ „ Steal.

3. „ ^ „ commit adultery.

4 - » ^ » lie-

5. „ „ „ drink wine.

6. „ n » recline on fine couches.

7. „ „ „ wear flowers or ribbons.

8. „ « « sing, dance, or witness plays.

9. „ „ „ wear jewels.

10. „ „ „ eat except at fixed hours.

Lay Buddhists are, however, only bound to observe the
first five of the above; the others are for the priests.

COMPASS, MARINER’S. Said to have been invented by
Chou Kung (B.C. iiio), under the form of a “point-
south-chariot,” in order to guide on their return journey
certain tribute-bearing envoys who had come to China
from Tongking. This however is pure legend; and although
the Chinese may have been acquainted with the properties
of the magnet as early as the Christian era, there appears
to be no authentic record of the use of the compass as
nautical instrument by them previous to the 12 th century
of our era.

COMPOUND. The common term for a walled enclosure
such as those in which stand the dwelling-house and
offices of foreigners in China. The etymology of this
word is unknown ; it is said, however, to be a corruption

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE 57

of the Portuguese campanha derived from campo a plain.
Compare the Malay kampong,

COMPRADORE: — negotiator of purchases. From

the Portuguese comprar to buy. The name given to the
Chinese agent through whose means foreign merchants
in China effect their purchases and sales. Chinese store-
keepers and ship-chandlers are also thus designated. The
word co7npradore is often transliterated as follows : '/X

COMPRADORE’S ORDER. A draft payable by the
compradore, in whose hands a sum of money is usually
placed to meet the current expenses of a firm.

CONCORDANCE, THE. See P‘ei wen yun fu.

CONFUCIAN PENCIL: Stone columns and

small pagodas in the form of the ordinary Chinese
writing-brush or pencil are frequently erected to improve
the Feng-Shui (q^v.) of a locality. One of the former
kind may be seen at Ningpo ; the small pagodas of that
shape are common all over the south of China. Two
may be seen close to Whampoa.

CONFUCIAN TEMPLE: To be found in every

Prefecture , sub-Prefecture , District , and market-town
throughout the empire. In it stand tablets of the Sage,
his four evangelists PE| SE , twelve apostles ^ 1

and other disciples, besides numerous lamous literary men
of all ages who have contributed to a better understanding
of the Confucian doctrines.

CONFUCIUS or CONFUTZEE or QUANGFOUTCHEE:
^^•^_K‘ung the Master. The Jesuit missionaries
took the Chinese sounds of these three characters, K ung
fu tztl, and Latinised them into their present form.

The great ethical, not religious, teacher of China.

58 A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

Flourished B.C. 551 — 479. [For specimens of his writings
and sayings, see Spring and Autumn and Analects.]
Like many others of the world’s prophets, he was neglected
in life to be honoured after death. Hereditary rank was
bestowed by the Emperor Kao Tsu of the Han dynasty,
B.C. 200, upon his senior descendant, and the family
still continues to enjoy many privileges and immunities
to this day. The personal name of Confucius was ^
Chhu, a word which now is never uttered or written in
full by devout Confucianists. ^ mou “a certain person”
is substituted in speech, and in writing a stroke is left
out. Confucius was placed by Comte in the second rank
of teachers; but his name was wholly omitted from G.
A. Sala’s list of the Hundred Greatest Men, published
a few years ago. Tennyson mentioned him in the ist
edition of F/te Palace of Art^ as follows:

Isaiah with fierce Ezekiel

Swarth Moses by the Coptic sea,

Plato, Petrarca, Livy, and Raphael,

And Eastern Confutzee.

‘^Confucian literature,” says the Rev. J. Chalmers, “is
“so pure as not to offend even virgin chastity.” The
following quaint description of a man who for centuries
has influenced hundreds of millions, is given in ch. x of
the Analects^ which makes it incumbent upon us to accept
its details as exact: —

“Confucius, in his village home, looked simple and
“sincere, as though he had nothing to say for himself.
“But when in the ancestral temple or at Court, he spoke
“minutely, though cautiously.

“He did not use deep purple or puce colour in the
“trimmings of his dress. He required his sleeping-dress
“to be half as long again as his body.

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“He did not dislike to have his rice finely cleaned,
“nor to have his minced meat cut quite small. He did
“not eat meat which was not cut properly, nor if served
“without its proper sauce. Only in wine he laid down
“no limit, but he did not allow himself to be confused
“by it. He was never without ginger when he ate. He
“did not eat much. When eating, he would not talk.
“When in bed he would not speak. If his mat was not
“straight, he would not sit on it.

“When he saw any one in mourning, he would change
“countenance. When he was at an entertainment where
“there was an abundance of provisions set before him,
“he would change countenance and rise up. On a sudden
“clap of thunder, or a violent wind, he would change
“countenance.”

Hence the following skit, from the pen of Bret Harte : —

Confucius — His Habits. — In walking the Master usually
put one foot before the other; when he rested it was
generally on both legs.

If in walking he came upon a stone, he would kick it
out of the way; if it were too heavy he would step over
or around it.

Happening once to kick a large stone, he changed
countenance.

The Superior Person wore his clothes in the ordinary
manner, never putting his shoes upon his head, nor his
cap upon his feet.

He always kept the skirts of his robe, before and
behind, evenly adjusted. He permitted not the unseemly
exposure of his undergarment of linen at any time.

When he met his visitors he rushed towards them with
his arms open like wings.

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His Poetry. — The following was written in his sixty-fifth
year, on leaving Loo:

Oh, I fain would still look toward Loo,

But this Kwei hill cuts off my view —

With an axe I will hew
This thicket all through
That obscures the clear prospect of Loo.

In later years the following was composed by his
disciple Shun:

There once was a sage called Confu —

Cius, whose remarks were not few :

He said, T will hew
‘This blasted hill through.’

While his friends remarked quietly, ‘Do.’

His Ethics. — The Master said, ^One virtue goes a great
‘way. In a jar of chow-chow, properly flavored with
‘ginger, even a dead mouse is palatable.’

On Wau asking him if it were proper to put dead
mice in chow-chow, he replied, ‘It is the custom.’

When he heard that Chang had beheaded an entire
province, he remarked, ‘This is carrying things to an
‘excess.’

On being asked his opinion of impalement, he replied
that ‘the end did not justify the means.’

Hop Kee asked him how to tell the superior man.
The Master replied, ‘How indeed!’

The Duke Shang asked him one day, ‘What constitutes
‘the State?’ Confucius replied, ‘The question is asinine.’

His Jokes. — One day being handed a two-foot rule,
Confucius opened it the wrong way, whereupon it broke.
The Master said quietly, that ‘it was a poor rule that
‘wouldn’t work both ways.’

Observing that Wau Sing was much addicted to opium,
the Master said; ‘Filial regard is always beautiful.’

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‘Why?’ asked his disciple. ‘He loves his poppy,’ replied
the Master, changing countenance.

‘Is that nankeen?’ asked the great Mencius, as he
carelessly examined the robe that enfolded the bosom of
the fair Yau Sing. ‘No,’ replied the Master, calmly,

‘that’s Pekin.’

CONG FOU. See Mesmeris7n,

CONGEE: ^ or A thickened decoction made of

rice or millet boiled very soft. From the Hindi kanji

“rice-gruel.” Congee-house is sailor slang for “gaol.”

CONGOU: Hi ^ — labour. A kind of black tea, including
several varieties, said to be thus named from the labour
of preparing it. From the Amoy pronunciation of the
above two characters.

CONSOO HOUSE. The public building belonging to the
old hong-merchants (q^v.) at Canton. From the local

pronunciation of company.

The Consoo fund was originally started to defray the
debts of bankrupt Chinese hongs at Canton, dealing

with foreigners under the old monopoly system. It was
the proceeds of a tax of about 3 per cent, on all foreign
exports and imports.

CONTRACTS: . May be written or verbal. In the

former case, the contract should be signed and sealed in
the presence of witnesses. In the latter, it is necessary that
bargain-money should have passed before the agreement
can be held to be binding.

COOLIE. The menial of the east. Two etymologies have
been given: — (i) Kholees or Kohs,, the Hindi name of
a degenerate race of Rajpoots in Guzerat. (2) A Tamil
word Kuli,^ meaning wages. A third and more likely
etymology is the Turkish word kuli a slave. The Chinese

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write the word in various ways without reference to its
meaning; though we have seen ^ “bitterness,”

and It, “strength.”

COOLIE CHINESE. A term used for the distorted Chinese
employed by compradores, shroffs, and servants generally,
with reference to their foreign masters and mistresses;
e.g., the use of i mo-shih for Mr. instead of the
proper Chinese equivalent; ^ ^ pzng t^ao “soldier boss”
for H. E. the Governor of Hongkong; "/X E Kozig-shdn
in imitation of the word “Consul,” etc., etc.

COOLIE ORANGE: The citrtis atirazitiuzn or common

orange. Coolie here=common, just as mandarm (q.v.)
often signifies superior kind of anything.

COPRAH. Hindi Khopra. The dried kernel of the coco-nut,
from which a valuable oil is expressed.

COPYRIGHT. Although no written copyright law exists
in China, it is open to an author to prosecute any one
who publishes his works, always provided that he carefully
keeps the blocks under his own control and notifies the
•same on the title-page. And in 1896 it was announced
at the Mixed Court, Shanghai, that foreigners producing
works in China would be entitled to claim the same
privilege. The phrase All rights reserved,”

is often seen upon title-pages of the better class of books.

CORAL: SB 3 ^. Was known to the Chinese before the
Christian era, and is mentioned as coming from Persia
and Ceylon. Is used as a medicine, small quantities of
powdered coral being administered in certain diseases of
childhood.

COREA. See Korea.

CORIT : ^ . A ^ chang or measure of 10 Chinese feet.

CORMORANTS. See Fishing.

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE 63

COTTON. Was introduced from Turkestan about the end
of the 1 3th cent. '

COURT DIALECT, THE. The dialect spoken in Peking
and its neighbourhood. It has only 42 1 vocables, and
four tones.

COURT OF CONSULS. A tribunal consisting of three
Treaty Consuls chosen annually by the Consular Body,
before which all suits against the Shanghai Municipal
Council are heard and determined.

COVID. The Chinese foot measure of ten inches=i4. i
inches English. [Portuguese covado^ the Flemish ell.]

COWRY. A shell used as money, 200 being equal to one
and or about three halfpence -, but the value varies in different
localities. The Hindi word is kauri. See Pearl-Oyster.

COXING A. See Koxinga.

COY AN or KOI AN. Malay weight and measure of 40
piculs (g.v.)—dloo\it 2 tons.

CRACKLE : ^ A peculiar kind of chinaware covered

with innumerable cracks; hence the name, which is the
same both in English and Chinese.

CRICKETS, FIGHTING: This is a common

pastime in some parts of China. It appears to date from
the 13th cent. A.D.

CRIMSON EYEBROWS: ji . A name given by Fan

Ch‘ung, leader of a band of insurgents against the rule
of the usurper Wang Mang (A.D. 23), to his followers,
who had painted their eyebrows red in token of their
resolve to fight to the last drop of their blood,

CRORE. Corrupt form of the Hindi word 10,000,000.

CUDBEAR: A red dye prepared from a kind of

lichen found in France and Sweden, and an article of
import into China. The name was invented by Dr. Cuthbert

64 A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

Gordon, who obtained a patent for this powder, in order
to connect it inseparably with his own.

CUE : . The tail of hair worn by every Chinaman.

Introduced into China by the present (Manchu) dynasty
only about 250 years ago, and long resisted by the natives
of the Amoy and Swatow districts, who, when finally
compelled to adopt the distasteful fashion, concealed the
badge of slavery beneath cotton turbans, the use of which
has survived to the present day. It is said to have been
originally adopted by the Manchus in imitation of a
horse’s tail, as a graceful tribute to the animal to which
they owed so much.

CUMMERBUND. A sash worn round the waist instead
of braces. From kamar the loins, and da 7 id a fastening.
[Persian compound.]

CUMQUAT: ^ — golden orange. A kind of small

orange. The citrus japonica^ Thbg. Found in the south of
China, and so called in imitation of the Cantonese sounds.
The Chinese term is used metaphorically in the sense of
darlings much as ckou “cabbage” in I’rench.

CUMSHAW. A present of any kind. From the Amoy
pronunciation of fH* — grateful thanks. Often used by
Chinese beggars to foreigners in the same sense as
“baksheesh,” which word is unknown to the phraseology
of the Far East.

CURIO. Abbreviation for curiosity^ as applied to bronzes,
netsukes, specimens of old china, etc., etc. The word is
now commonly used on sign-boards exhibited outside the
shops of Chinese tradesmen in this particular line who
desire to attract foreign customers.

“The vendor of small and second-hand curios, exposes
“upon some door-steps his brass trinkets, his vases, his

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“little snuff bottles, and a multitude of trifling articles
“difficult to guard from thieves, with no other protection
“than eternal vigilance.” Bits of Chinese Travel.

CURRY. A corrupted form of the Hindi word karhi, a
stew. Usually written cari or karick by the French.

CUSPIDOR. From the Portuguese cuspir to spit. The
ornamental Chinese vases used as spittoons are usually
so called.

CUSTARD APPLE; ^ ^ :^—the foreign lichee. The
fruit of the anona sguatnosa. Is a native, according to
Dr. H. F. Hance, of the West Indies and of Brazil; but
was introduced into Asia more than a hundred years
ago. So called because the pulp has a white, custard-like
appearance.

CUSTOMS, IMPERIAL MARITIME. See /. G.

CUTCH ; An extract obtained by boiling the brown

heartwood of the Acacia catechu. So called from the
Runn of Cutch, near which the tree grows. Used by the
Chinese as a dye and medicine, and otherwise known as
Terra Japonica,, from the old belief that it was an earth.

CUTCH A. The opposite to pakka (q>v,).

CYCLE, CHINESE. Consists of 6o years, designated by

the combination of a set of ten and a set of twelve

characters, taken two together in order. Said to have

been invented B.C, 2637, though it is difficult to trace

it back farther than the Historical Records by Ssu-ma

Ch‘ien, ist cent. B.C.

/ /

DAB An. a Mongol word signifying mountain pass\ e.g.,
Yanghi Dabdn.

DAGOBA or DHAGOBA. From dhatu garbha “relic
preserver.” See Stupa.

DAI-BUTSU DAIBOOTS: great Buddha. A

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term applied by the Japanese to images of Buddha, and
especially to the three principal ones at Nara, Kamakura,
and Hiogo. That at Nara, which was the capital of Japan
in the 8th cent. A.D., is of bronze, washed with gold,
and represents Amida Buddha in a sitting position. It is
formed of large plates of bronze, soldered together, is
53 ft. 6 in. in height, and dates from 747. The image at
Kamakura is 49 ft. 7 in. in height, and dates from 1251.
Its eyes are pure gold, and the boss on the forehead is
of silver and weighs over 30 lbs. The length of one of
the eyes is 3 ft. 1 1 in., and the circumference of one of
the thumbs is 3 ft. The image at Hiogo is 48 ft. in height
and 85 ft. round the waist. It is not gilt, and dates only
from 1891. See Lama Temple.

DAIDJI: ^ . Japanese hereditary nobles who claim descent

from the founder of the Mongol empire, or from the
Khans or titular princes and dukes of the various Mongol
tribes. May be compared with the Chinese ‘‘Yellow Girdles.”

DAI IN KUN: The late father of the King of

Korea. Some years ago he became involved in political
intrigues, and was carried off to China, but was subsequently
permitted to return to Korea.

DAIMIO: — great name. A Japanese feudal chief or

prince. Now called kwazoku the other two classes

of Japanese society being the shizoku it or vassals,
formerly known as samurai^ and the hei~min ^ ^ or
people, including manufacturers, agriculturalists, artisans,
and citizens generally.

DAISAKAN ^ . The old term for Japanese Government
clerks of the ist grade; now changed to Ittozoku ( — * ^ ^

DAL AD A. The left canine tooth of Buddha, now preserved
at Kandy, where it was exhibited to the Prince of Wales.

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE 67

DALAI LAMA: One of the two popes of

the yellow or reformed church of the Lamas. Resides at
Lhassa, the capital of Tibet. The other is the Lama
Panchhan Rinbochhi of Tashilunpo. Also called Teshulama
or Panshen Erdeni. Dalai is a Mongol word signifying
the “Ocean.”

DALNY. A corruption of Ta-li-an-wan (or

Ta-lien-wan), part of K-ussia’s newly-acquired territory at
the entrance of the Gulf of Peichili. The town of Dalny
is connected with Port Arthur by telephone and by
telegraph. The bay affords a good anchorage, although
it is rather shallow near the shore.

DAMAR or DAMMAR: Pfi . Is a kind of resin dug

out of the forests by the Malays, and apparently the
fossilised juices of former growths of the jungle, probably
of palms. It is used by the Malays for torches, and by
the Chinese for caulking boats. D. is the Malayan term
for resin generally.

DANCING. Was not unknown to the ancient Chinese,
though of a character allied rather to the minuet than
to the valse and performed by bands of male dancers
only, chiefly as a State ceremonial. May still be seen
upon the Chinese stage. For dancing in Japan, see Fan
Dance and yon-mikL

DANDY. A name applied to the two-wheeled vehicles of
Province Wellesley in the Malay peninsula. In India, the
dandy is a hammock slung on a staff, in which the rider
sits sideways or lies on his back. Much used by ladies
at hill-stations. From the Hindi dandi a staff.
DEATH-BLOW TO CORRUPT DOCTRINES:

^ . A scurrilous and disgusting Chinese pamphlet

published in 1870, by|^ ^T‘ang Chi-sheng, Provincial

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Treasurer of Hupeh, and directed against the propagation
of Christianity in China. Translated into English by Dr.
Nevius of Chefoo. With the above was incorporated,
under the title of ^ Ife, the famous anti-Christian
pamphlet entitled ^ ^ B “I was obliged to” by ^
Yang Kuang-hsien of the 17th cent., to which Fathers
Buglio and de Magalhaens replied in 1662.

DEER’S HORNS: . Imported into China (exported

from Newchwang) in large quantities, and used as a
stimulant medicine, the only explanation for which seems
to be the quantity of ammonia therein contained ; though
it is quite possible that the sound of the character for
deer (identical with that of emolument, and in some
dialects ^ pleasure, ease) and its emblematic meaning
have not been without their influence upon a superstitious
people.

DELEGATE BIBLE. A version of the Bible in Chinese,
originally intended to be the joint work of Delegates
from the various Protestant missionary societies in China.
On this plan the New Testament was completed in 1850;
but at the 9th ch. of Deuteronomy there was a split
in the camp, and Messrs Boone and Bridgman retired,
leaving the Old Testament to be completed (in 1855)
by Messrs Medhurst, Stronach, and Milne. The style is
professedly high-class ; but the result is for the most part
either unintelligible or obscure.

DENGUE. The Indian name of a kind of fever. Pronounced
in various ways, but generally dengee with a hard g.
Has been derived by some amateur philologue from
“Aden ague” — Aden being the place from which it was
introduced — by an elision of the two as,

DEV AS. Divine beings, resident either upon earth or in

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one of the six celestial worlds (feminine dez^i). They are
of three kinds: — (i) Kamavachera^ or those still under the
dominion of the passions. (2) Rupavachera, a higher class,
though still trammelled with a form. (3) Ampavachera,
the highest in degree of purification, devoid of form.

DEVILS: . Strictly speaking, the disembodied spirits of

dead people, but popularly applied to all kinds of ghosts,
bogies, the denizens of the Chinese infernal regions, and
last, though not least, to foreigners (see Fanqui) because
of their blue eyes and shrill voices. Devils often mingle
with the living in order to work some mischief- but they
may always be detected by their want of appetite, their
dislike to the . smell of sulphur, and the fact* that their
bodies throw no shadow. Sometimes they are of a milder
disposition, a case being on record in which a devil gained
a literary degree for his friend and benefactor. They too
suffer death and become ^ .

DHOBY. The Hindi word (dhobi) for a washerman. Used
in Hongkong, but seldom heard in the north of China.

DHYANA: ipl ^ . A state of abstract meditation, leading
to the entire absence of any desire for existence, cultivated
by Buddhist priests. There is a Hall of Meditation in all
large Buddhist temples, where priests may be seen sitting
with their eyes closed, as though wrapt in contemplation.
DIAGRAMS, THE EIGHT: A#- Eight combinations
or arrangements of a line and a divided line, either one
or other of which is repeated twice, and in two cases
three times, in the same combination. Thus there may be
three lines, or three divided lines, a divided line above
or below two lines, a divided line between two lines,
and so on, eight in all. These diagrams are said to have
been invented two thousand years and more B.C. by

^o A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

the monarch Fu Hsi who copied them from the back of
a tortoise. He subsequently increased the above simple
combinations to sixty-four double ones, on the permutations
of which are based the philosophical speculations of the
Book of Changes (q.v,}. Each diagram represents some
power in nature, either active or passive, such as fire,
water, thunder, earth, etc., etc.

“Whoever the author of the Diagrams may have been,
“he seems to have arrived, whether by inspiration or
“observation, induction, deduction, or whatever process,
“at the simple conclusion that all things visible are but
“the phenomena consequent on the action of certain
“forces.’,’ Alabaster . See Yin arid Yang. The following
are specimens of these Diagrams: — ~, etc.

DIALECTS: it The chief dialects of China Proper
are those spoken at Canton, Amoy, Foochow, Ningpo,
Peking, and by the Hakkas (q.v.J. Natives of these
places are mutually unintelligible, although all the dialects
are really offshoots from one parent stem. The written
language, however, is practically the same all over the
empire.

DIAMOND SUTRA : 4 ^ P|i} ^ . A favourite Buddhist sutra
in China, first translated into Chinese by Kumarajiva
who died A.D. 417. Its concluding w^ords declare that
“all objective existence is like a dream, like a vision,
“like a bubble, like shadow, like dew, like lightning, and
“should be regarded as such.”

DICE : " 1 ^ . Said to have been invented by ^ ^ 3 E

Ch‘en Ssil-wang of the ^ Wei dynasty, 3rd cent. A.D.
Chinese dice are peculiar in that the ace and four are
invariably red, while the other points are black. That the
ace should be thus marked is easily intelligible, both on

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

account of the Chinese fancy for a dab of the auspicious
colour on every available object, and also because the
ace is in many cases the highest throw; but it is not
generally known why the four should be distinguished in
like manner to the exclusion of the rest. One day the
Emperor 7C ^ Hsiian Tsung of the T'ang dynasty was
playing a game with his favourite concubine
Yang Kuei-fei, and wanted three fours to win. As the
dice rolled out, one of them settled down at once shewing
the desired number, while the others went on spinning round
and round. “Four! four! four!” cried out His Majesty
much excited, and the dice immediately settled in obedience
to the Imperial call. A eunuch standing by suggested
that something should be done to mark this extraordinary
event, and orders were consequently issued that in future
the four should be coloured red. Mr. Stewart Culin,
however, is inclined to connect the characteristics of
Chinese dice with astrological science.

A slightly varying account is given in the ^ under
the heading 7C • It is also related in the that

previous to the T‘ang dynasty dice were made of wood,
and that then the seeds of the abrus precatorius were
inserted into small holes, hollowed out for that purpose,
to mark the various red points required.

DICTIONARIES: The Chinese language not

admitting of alphabetical arrangement, dictionaries are
formed by placing together all characters having the same
Radical and then further sorting these according

to the number of strokes in the remaining portion. Or
the characters may be arranged in groups according to
their Rhymes, forming what are called Tonic dictionaries,
which first came into vogue about A.D. 35^* Dictionaries

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have also been arranged under the Initials (q-v.)^ and
again according to the Phonetics. The first dictionary
published in China was the Shuo Wen (q.v.). The last
of any importance was that of the Emperor K‘ang Hsi
(q.v.)^ which contains about 44,000 different characters.
Both are arranged under Radicals.

DISTRICT MAGISTRATE. See Chih-hsien,

DITCHERS, (i) Calcutta Englishmen are so called, from
a fosse dug round the city in 1742, as a defence against
the Mahrattas.

(2) The long narrow steamers built for the China trade
subsequent to the opening of the Suez Canal, which is
the “ditch.”

DIVORCE ; HJ ^ . A Chinaman may divorce his wife for
any one of the following reasons: —

(i) Barrenness; (2) Lasciviousness; (3) Neglect of his
parents; (4) Talkativeness; (5) Thieving; (6) Jealous
temper; (7) Loathsome disease.

But not under any one of the following extenuating
circumstances : —

(i) If the wife has been in mourning (q-v.) for her
husband’s parents; (2) if the husband has grown rich
since their marriage; (3) if the wife has no home to
which she can go back.

DOCTRINE OF THE CH‘I (^). [Before perusing the
following quotation from Sir C. Alabaster’s exposition of
this difficult subject, the reader is requested to refer to
(i) Diagrams and (2) Yin and Yang\ “To class
“phenomena was his next thought, but ere he could
“conveniently do so, he needed now a name not only
“for his symbol but for its parts; and from the sound
“of the wind which had breathed the dead water before

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“him into life and motion, he called the Initial Force
“ ChH^ adding thereto the word by which they already
“expressed grandeur, T'ai Ch‘i, the Great Breath, the
“life, the soul, the spirit of the Living Universe.”

DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN: ^ — invariable medium.

One of the Four Books, the title of which was translated
as above by Dr. Legge. A philosophical work, ascribed
to K'ung Chi, otherwise known as Tzu Ssu, the grandson of
Confucius. Traces the ruling motives of human conduct from
their psychological source. The following is a specimen : —
In archery we have something like the way of the
superior man. When the archer misses the bull’s-eye, he
turns and seeks for the cause of his failure in himself.

How abundantly do spiritual beings display the powers
that belong to them! We look for them, but do not see
them*, we listen for, but do not hear them; yet they
enter into all things and there is nothing without them.

DOGS : ^ and ^ . Are classed among the six domestic
animals of China and are much valued for their fidelity,
although looked down upon for other reasons so that the
word is regarded as a term of abuse. The flesh of dogs
is very sparingly eaten, and then only when the animal
has been fed for the table. The dog-butchers in Canton
are almost as much a curiosity to Chinese from the
north, where there are none, as to foreigners from the
other side of the world.

DOKMA. The Parsi burying-ground or Tower of Silence

DOLLAR. From the German thaler^ which word was taken
from the name of the place “Joachims-thal, where, in
the 15th century, the Counts of Schlick coined the silver
extracted from their mines into one-ounce pieces. The

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symbol $ has been supposed to be the monogram of
U.S. — United States; but others maintain that it is an
imitation of the pillars and scroll on the Spanish Carolus
or “pillar” dollar (q.v.). Another suggestion is that it is
the old cancelled figure of 8, sometimes written /<?/, a
distinguishing mark in account-books of Spanish dollars
which were worth eight reals and were known as pieces
of eight (see Robin$o 7 t Crusoe).

DOLON NOR. (See Lama Miao). A famous place in
Mongolia, so called from the seven lakes (nor) there.

DOM A. Court-yard in a Japanese house.

DOMINOES: A set of dominoes, consisting of 32

tablets with 227 spots in all, was presented to the
Emperor in the year A.D. 1120. The spots were explained
as referring to various categories such as “the four seasons,”
“the twenty-four solar terms,” etc.

DOTCHIN: ^ ^ tu ch^'hig^ to weigh. A steel-yard.

DOUBLE ISLAND. (See Swatow). The Chinese name
Mah-soo is either IT life, lit. “double island,” or
from the name of a goddess who has a small shrine
there. Is called ^ ^ |J 4 “release-fowl-hill” in the Hist,
of Chao-chou Fu.

DRAGON: The Chinese emblem of Imperial power.

A fabulous monster whose habitat is in the clouds, by
which it is concealed from view. The Imperial dragon
is distinguished by the addition of a fifth claw to the
usual four.

DRAGON’S BLOOD: Jj 5 l . A resin yielded by the ^
Doemonorops draco^ a sort of palm found in Sumatra.
Used as an astringent, styptic, tonic, etc.

DRAGON BOATS: The long boats used for racing

at the Dragon Festival,

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DRAGON FESTIVAL: C ^ or iQ ^ . A river festival,
annually celebrated with boat-racing on the 5th of the
5th moon in memory of the poet and patriot Ch‘u P'ing of
the 4th cent. B.C., who, degraded by his prince and disgusted
with the world, drowned Tiimself in the river

DRAGON THRONE: fife. So called because the dragon
is the Chinese emblem of Imperial power.

DRAMA. See Theatre.

DUB ASH. A two-tongued man, linguist, or interpreter.
From the Hindustani dobashi.

DUCKS. See Bombay Dtick.

DUIT. At Singapore, equals ^/4 cent.

DUNCANS. Mahommedan subjects of China who in very
early times were colonised, under the name of Gao-tchan,
in Kansuh and Shensi, and subsequently spread westward
into Chinese Turkestan and Jungaria. Some however
maintain that the D. are a distinct race, who in the fifth
and sixth centuries occupied the Tian Shan range, with
their capital at Karashar, But Tungani means in the
dialect of Chinese Tartary “converts,” i.e. to Mahom-
medanism, to which they were converted in the time of
Timour by an Arabian adventurer. Were finally destroyed
as a people by the Chinese in 1876.

DURIAN (Durio Zibethinus). A fruit found in the Malay
Archipelago, of about the size of a man’s head, with a
thick rind containing a creamy pulp of a delicious flavour
but so horribly offensive in smell that few Europeans can
bring themselves to taste it.

DUTCH FOLLY: or Sea-Pearl Rock. A small

island in the river near the city of Canton, said to have
been originally a pearl dropped into the water by a
merchant. Another account says it was so named by the

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Chinese as resembling a pearl floating on the water. It
appears that the Dutch once built a fort on the island;
hence the foreign name. In the war which arose out of
the “Arrow” case, the island was used as a coign of
vantage from which to bombard the adjacent city.

DUTCH FORTS. These remains of the Dutch occupation
of Formosa (see Koxinga) are still to be found. The
best preserved is at Tamsui, where it now forms part
of the British Consulate. It is built of red brick, and the
walls are lo or 12 feet in thickness. See Zealandia,

DUTCH WIFE. A light frame, either of rattan or lacquered
wood, used in bed as a kind of leg and arm rest, with
a view to coolness, by persons who sleep badly in hot
weather. Those in use among the Chinese are hollow
cylindrical frames of bamboo, and are called, by a curious
coincidence, “bamboo wives.” Also mentioned by

^ ^ Kuei-meng, the celebrated poet of the T^ang

dynasty, under the name YS ^ “bamboo leg rests.”

Apropos of this entry, we may add that a Chinese
bed-warmer is called a ^ ^ A or hot water wife^ being
generally a hollow earthenware figure, filled with hot
water and used as a hot bottle with us.

DYAKS: M# More correctly Dayaks. Used by the
Malays as a generic term for all the wild races of Sumatra
and Celebes, but now especially of Borneo, where they
are most numerous, in which sense it is equivalent to
our word “savages.”

DYNASTIES, CHINESE.

Legendary Rulers B.C

H sia dynasty ^ „

Shang , ,

Chou „ ^ ,

2852 2205

2205 1766

I 766 I 122

1122 255

A (jrJ^U:bSAKy Ut KEtJ^KHhlCE

Ch‘in

dynasty

PB.C.

255 —

206

Han

7 i

206

A.D.

22 1

Minor dynasties

A.D.

22 1

618

T‘ang dynasty

618—

907

Five

dynasties

907 —

960

Sung

dynasty ^ ,

960

7 i

I 260

Yiian (Mongol)

7 ) TCt

1260

1368

Ming

1644

Chdng (Manchu)

1644—

DZASSAK : ^\j ^ ^ . The chiefs who rule the Mongolian
Banners (g.v.) are so called. The office is in some cases
hereditary, in .others, conferred by Imperial appointment.
EARTH, TEMPLE OF: altar of Earth. A large

enclosure within the walls of the Chinese or outer portion
of the city of Peking, dedicated to the worship of Earth
as one of the Three Forces “ Heaven, Earth,

and Man. It is here that the Emperor, ploughing with
his own hand, annually turns the first sod of the year,
desiring by his example to glorify agriculture, the mainstay
of the Chinese people.

EAST INDIA COMPANY. First established a factory
(q-V.) at Canton in 1684. Monopoly terminated 1834.
The character for company^ as prefixed to opium

( ^ jl8 company opium) and other goods, is a survival
of the old days when the name of the celebrated “Kumpani”
was sufficient guarantee for the quality of its goods.

EIGHTEEN PROVINCES, forming China Proper.

1. Chihli 5. Kiangsu

2. Shantung 6. Anhui

3. Shansi 7. Kiangsi

4. Honan 8. Chehkiang

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9 -

Fuhkien

14.

Yunnan

10.

Hupeh

15-

Kueichou

I I .

Hunan

16.

Sstich^uan

1 2.

Kuangtung 17.

Shensi

13-

Kuangsi

18.

Kansuh

To these

might now

be added

Shing-King (q.v,) which

virtually a

nineteenth

province.

its administration having

been changed since 1876 from military to civil.

[For Chinese characters, old names, capital cities etc.,
see under each heading.]

The thirteen provinces of the Ming dynasty may be
obtained from the above table by striking out Nos. i, 5,
6, and 18, and combining Nos. 10 and ii into one.
ELEUTH MONGOLS: iS (or Same as the

“Kalmucks,” which is the western name of this division
of the Mongols. “Eleuth” or “Oedot” is probably from
Wara or Oirad the name of the leading tribe

known to the Ming Emperors.

EMPERORS OF THE PRESENT DYNASTY, KNOWN AS THE
TA TSING (Q.v.) OR “GREAT PURE.^’

Style of reign.

Accession.

Reigned.

Chinese.

Shun Chih

1 1644 A.D.

18 years

K^ang Hsi or Kang Hi

1662 „

61 „

Yung Cheng

1723 «

13 «

miE

Ch^ien Lung or Kien Lung

1736 „

60 „

Chia ChSng or Kia King

! 1796 „ 1

25 «

Tao Kuang

1821 „

30 n

Hsien Feng or Hien Fung

\r\

II «

T‘ung Chih

1862 „

13 «

Kuang Hsii

1875 1.

i/tm

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EMPRESS DOWAGER: jji§ ^ The mother of

the last Emperor T‘ung Chih (q.v.)^ said to have been
sold as a slave-girl at the age of 14, in consequence of
the poverty of her parents. She was actually only a
concubine of the Emperor Hsien Feng, but as mother
of the Heir Apparent who subsequently ascended the
throne, she ranked with the real Empress and

for many years, until the death of the latter in 1881, the
two ladies ruled China together as Joint Regents. During
the short reign of T'ung Chih they nominally retired from
the government, but resumed power on his death in 1875,
when they placed on the throne a four-year old cousin
of the late Emperor, now known as Kuang Hsii. In
1889 the Empress Dowager formally relinquished the
administration to him, but once more seized the reins in
1898, after a coup d'etat by which Kuang Hsu was
checked in a career of reform and was practically deposed.
Is popularly known as ^ ^ ^ Her Imperial Majesty
Buddha.

ENAMEL: The English name for that

kind of Chinese ornamental ware which is produced by
fixing colours on a copper basis by the application of heat.
P'rench, cloison7ie (qro.). The Chinese term fa-lang is
unquestionably a corruption of Franks through Feringhi ^
the name under which the early Portuguese
traders were known to the Chinese.

ENCYCLOPAEDIAS: ^ # . Have been compiled in China
on large scale for many centuries, the subjects being
arranged under categories, as Heaven, Earth, Man,
Sciences, Philosophy, etc. The most famous is the ^ ^

I Now applied contemptuously to the Portuguese by the natives of Calcutta.

8o A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

^ , arranged as above and profusely illustrated. It

was originated by the Emperor K‘ang Hsi and completed
under his successor in 1726 in 10,000 books dealing with
6,109 sub-heads. Only 100 copies were printed, from
movable copper types, for presentation to deserving officials
and others. That the types were movable can be proved
from the fact that here and there characters will be found
upside down or on their sides, which could not possibly
occur in block-printing. The whole has been beautifully
reproduced by photo-lithography by Messrs Major Bros.,
Shanghai, and fills 1628 vols, 8vo, of about 200 pp. each.

EPICURUS (of China, The). A name which has been
applied, though without the slightest justification, to Lao
Tzu

ERDENI. See Panshen,

ERH YA. See Urh Ya.

ETA. A pariah class under the old regime of Japan, whose
disabilities have since been removed. Their business was
with hides, dead animals, etc.

ETIQUETTE. (Chinese). Never sit down while your visitor
is standing, nor pass before him through a door. Never
speak to an equal from a chair or from on horseback,
but dismount, nor without first removing your spectacles.
Always place a visitor on your left; and in handing
anything to him, invariably use both hands. When he
takes his leave, accompany him to the front door.

Chinese servants should not (strictly speaking) appear
before their masters in short clothes, nor without socks,
nor with shoes down at heel, nor with the tail tied round
the head. They should not loll about, but stand in a
respectful attitude with their hands down; and on meeting
their employers in the street, they should stand aside and

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

yield the path. They should not wear gaudy clothes,
nor blue socks, and should be shaved regularly at short
intervals.

Chinese street etiquette is also quite different from our
own, a fact usually ignored by blustering foreigners who
march through a Chinese town as if the place belonged
to them, and not unfrequently complain that coolies and
others will not “get out of their way.” There is, in fact,
a graduated scale of Chinese street rights in this particular
respect, to which, as being recognised by the Chinese
themselves, it would be advisable for foreigners to pay some
attention. In England it has been successfully maintained
that the roadway belongs to all equally, foot-passengers,
equestrians, and carriage-passengers alike. Each is bound
to respect the rights of the other, and is responsible for
any accident arising from disregard of this principle. Not
so in China; the ordinary foot-passenger is bound to “get
out of the way” of the lowest coolie who is carrying a
load; that same coolie must make way, even at great
inconvenience to himself, for a sedan-chair; an empty
chair yields the way to a chair with somebody inside ; a
chair, inasmuch as being more manageable, gets out of
the way of a horse ; and horse, chair, coolie, and foot-
passenger, all clear the road for a wedding or other
procession, or for the retinue of a mandarin. Apropos of
the custom of getting out of a chair or getting off a
horse on meeting a friend who is walking, we have
omitted to state that in such cases it is considered the
duty of anyone on foot, observing the appioach of an
acquaintance in a chair or on horseback, to screen his
face with his fan and prevent the other from catching
his eye, thus saving him the trouble of dismounting. Thus

82 A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

when two high mandarins of equal rank, such as a Viceroy
and Tartar General, find themselves face to face in their
chairs, those attendants among their retinues who carry
the enormous wooden fans rush forward and insert them
between the passing chairs, so that their masters may
be presumed not to see each other, and consequently
not be obliged to get out. No subordinate can ever meet
a higher mandarin in this way ; the former must turn down
some by-street immediately on hearing the approaching
gong of his superior officer. At interviews with their
superiors, subordinates should not use fans, even in the
hottest weather. See Presents^ Visits.

EUNUCHS: Are employed in the Imperial palace

at Peking, for the service (i) of the Emperor, who should
have 3,000 in all; (2) of princes and princesses of the
blood, sons, grandsons, great-grandsons, and great-great-
grandsons, of Emperors; and (3) of the descendants of
the eight Manchu chiefs who assisted in the establishment
of the present dynasty. The use of eunuchs in China is
said to date back to B.C. iioo. From time to time they
have played very prominent parts in the history of China,
and have even been allowed to adopt sons to inherit
their honours. In A.D. 190, a eunuch named Chang Jang
actually kidnapped an Emperor. In the early part of the
15th cent., another eunuch named Cheng Ho commanded
several important expeditions, even reaching Ceylon and
Hormuz in the Persian Gulf. The fall of the Ming dynasty
in 1644 has been traced to the pernicious influence of
eunuchs in political matters and the present dynasty has
kept a tight hand upon them. In 1869 the favourite
eunuch of the present Empress Dowager was summarily
beheaded for violent behaviour in the province of Shantung,

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whither he had proceeded to make purchases for his
mistress.

EURASIAN. The offspring of a European father and an
Asiatic mother. There is a Eurasian school in Shanghai.
EVER VICTORIOUS ARMY: ^ . The Imperial

army which ultimately, under the leadership of Colonel
Gordon (otherwise known as “Chinese Gordon”), put an
end to the T‘ai-p'ing (g.v.) rebellion. So named because
never defeated.

EXAMINATIONS, COMPETITIVE. Have been carried
on in China for many centuries, though the modern
system, in regard to its various details, dates only from
the Sung dynasty, A.D. 960 — 1260. Three degrees are
granted, each of which confers special privileges. They
are those of h^iu chu jen^ and chin shih^ (qq.v.).

The examination for the first degree is held twice in
every three years by the Literary Chancellor at the
prefectural cities of each province. It occupies only one
day. The candidates assemble at the place of examination
before dawn, and are provided with seats and paper.
They are carefully searched on entering, but often find
means to elude the vigilance of their searchers ; and
instead of having the Fotir Books at their fingers’ ends,
they have them, in the form of diamond editions, concealed
up their flowing sleeves. As soon as it is light enough,
two themes for prose essays, and one for a poem, are
carried round on long poles and are copied down by all.
Then ensues a struggle as to who shall finish first, a
certain proportion of marks being allowed for speed in
composition •, and by degrees all the papers are handed in,
and the candidates disperse. Some few days afterwards
the list is issued^ and it is a joyful moment for those

84 A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

who find themselves in possession of the first literary
degree, a degree which launches its owner fairly in a
recognised career, entitles him to wear official dress with
a gilt button of the lowest grade, and exempts him as
a prisoner, or as a witness, from the indignity of the
bamboo, at any rate until such time as his case shall
have been reported to the higher authorities and his
diploma cancelled.

The examination for the second degree is held in the
autumn of every third year, by an Imperial Commissioner,
usually spoken of as the Grand Examiner, who is specially
deputed by the Emperor for that purpose. On his arrival
from Peking his residence is formally sealed up, and
extraordinary precautions are taken to prevent friends of
intending candidates from approaching him in an improper
sense. At an early hour on the appointed day the candidates
begin to assemble, and by-and-by the great gates of the
examination hall are thrown open and heralds shriek out
the names of those who are to enter. Each one answers
‘Adsum’ in turn as his name is called, and forthwith
receives from the attendants a roll of paper marked with
the number of the open cell he is to occupy in one of
the long alleys into which the examination hall is divided.
Other writing materials, as well as food, he carries with
him in a basket, which is always carefully searched at
the door. When all have found their seats, the Grand
Examiner burns incense and closes the entrance gates,
through which no ingress nor egress will now be permitted
on any pretence whatever, until the afternoon of the
third day, when the first of three bouts or sittings is at
an end. In case of death, which is by no means unusual
where a large number of human beings are cooped up day

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE 85

and night in a confined space, the body is always hoisted
over the outer wall ; and this rule would be carried out
even were it the Grand Examiner himself, whose place
would then be taken by his chief Assistant-Examiner, a
functionary who is also nominated by the Emperor and
accompanies the Grand Examiner from Peking. The
themes are next exhibited and copied down by the
candidates. For this first bout there are three for prose
essays, always taken from the Four Books^ and one
subject for a poem. An essay should consist of about
700 to 800 characters in length, and the poem of
twelve lines, both to be correctly written and the latter in
a stated metre ; the paper, moreover, not to be soiled
or torn. On the afternoon of the third day the candidates
hand in their compositions, and are then released until
the next morning, when they reassemble for a second
bout of three days, as before, to compose five essays on
themes taken from the Five Classics. On the afternoon
of the third day the results of their labours are again
handed in by the candidates, and the gates thrown open,
to be closed as before on the following morning for a
third and last bout of three days, devoted to answering
questions on miscellaneous topics selected by the examiners
from any source they may choose.

The examination for the third degree is held in Peking
once in every three years, in the spring directly following
the examination for the second degree. This examination
is conducted upon lines almost identical with those of the
provincial competition for the preceding degree. It is
similarly divided into three sittings, of three days to
each, and the subjects, taken from the same sources, are
necessarily of the same character. Some 8,000 to 9,000

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candidates compete, and among them about 300 degrees
are distributed. The winners of this degree are divided into
three classes. Upon the first are bestowed appointments
in the National Academy of Literature • upon the second,
subordinate posts in government offices at Peking ; and
upon the third, nominations to the ranks of ^expectant’
officials, under the various provincial administrations.

Any Chinaman may present himself for the ist degree
who can show that none of his ancestors for three
generations have been either actors, barbers, priests,
executioners, official servants, etc. There is no limit of
age, an instance being recorded of a man who took his
third degree at the age of seventy-two.

EXPRESS, AN. A public notification or advertisement of
any kind, generally printed and circulated by one of the
printing-offices in Shanghai on behalf of those concerned.
In an article on Old Expresses once published in the
North-China Daily News^ the writer says, “They com-
“memorate occurrences that were important at the time
“to somebody, and they contain the names of many
“persons who have passed away.” See Bunder.

EXTRA-TERRITORIALITY. The exemption of foreigners
residing in China (formerly in Japan, but abolished 1899)
from trial and punishment according to the laws of that
country.

“British subjects who may commit any crime in China,
“shall be tried and punished by the Consul, or other
“public functionary authorized thereto, according to the
“laws of Great Britain.” Treaty of Tientsin: Art. XVI.

“What tome or treatise can explain
Thy individuality?”

“I spring from Treaties,” w^hispered back
Exterritoriality.

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This word is often written ex-territorial'^ but from the
sense it is clearly a similar compound to extra-parochial^
extra-provincial^ and such words, and should be spelt
accordingly.

FA HSIEN. A Chinese Buddhist priest, who in the year
399 A.D. travelled from China to India overland. He
visited Patna, Benares, Buddha-Gaya, and other famous
spots, obtaining copies of some of the sacred books of
Buddhism, and returning to China by sea, via Ceylon and
Sumatra, in the year 417 A.D.

FACTORIES, THE. So called from their being the residence
of factors^ or agents of the East India Company, and
not because anything was manufactured there. The former
residences of foreigners in the western suburbs of Canton,
to which they were strictly confined. ‘^The factories were
“a series of 13 hongs (g.v,). They were placed side by
“side of each other, forming as it were a row or terrace
“fronting the river, but each Hong consisted of a series
“of buildings placed one behind the other from the river
“backwards, for a depth of from 550 to 600 feet to the first
“street running parallel with the river.” S. W. Willia^ns,

FAI TEE: — make haste! [Cantonese.]

F'AI-T^ING: ^ — fast boat. A small passenger boat in

use at Canton.

FA-KEE or FA-KI: flowery flag. A common

Chinese name for the United States, alluding to the
“stars and stripes” of the national standard.

FAN CHdEH. See Spelling System,

FAN DANCE (of Japan). The dancer, a girl of about
thirteen, is elaborately dressed as a page. Confined by
the closely-folded robe, the feet and legs are not much
used, the feet, indeed, never leaving the ground. Time

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is marked by undulations of the body, waving the arms,
and deft manipulation of a fan. One movement succeeds
another by transitions singularly graceful, the arms
describing innumerable curves, and the fan so skilfully
handled as to seem instinct with a life and liberty of
its own.

FANG TAN: — square document. Local Shanghai

term for a title-deed to land, issued in lieu of original
deeds which may have been lost. Properly a ^ ^ 00 ^ ,
and called fang tan (i) because the character 00 is
square, or (2) because it is sealed with a square seal, or
(3) because the document itself is square.

FANQUI FAN KUEI-TZU : # J®,— foreign devils,
i.e.^ foreigners. An absurd attempt was once made to
shew that the epithet ^devils” was applied to foreigners
more as a “term of endearment” than anything else, on
the ground that the Chinese have good devils as well as
bad in their unseen universe^, and that there is no reason
to believe they necessarily connect us with the latter.
Mr. Wu T‘ing-fang, Minister to the United States, formerly
known as Mr. Ng Choy, thinks that the term fan-qui
has now lost much of its insulting significance, and that
the common word fan (see Barbarians^ is used by the
Chinese without the slightest reference to its original
meaning * but although there may be much truth in his
latter proposition, it is none the less desirable that both
these expressions should disappear. The same gentleman
states that the Cantonese slang term for missionaries is
Yek-soo kwai^ “Jesus devils.” Pidgin-English-speaking
Chinese have mixed up fan with our word foreign^ in
which sense it is often used in conversation.

The following story, bearing out the view that the

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Chinese often term us “devils” without reference to the
meaning of the word, was vouched for by Mr. Mongan,
H. M. Consul at Tientsin. Shortly after the opening of
the Tientsin Consulate, a Chinaman presented himself
before Mr. Mongan with a present of some kind, which
he said he had brought from his home, several hundred
li distant, in obedience to the command of his dying
father who had formerly been cured of ophthalmia by a
foreign doctor at Canton, and who had told him, upon
his death-bed, “never to forget the English.” Yet this
present was addressed to Y ^ A A — “To

“His Excellency the Great English Devil, Mongan.”
See Devils.

FANS: . Were made in early ages from feathers, the

symbol for which appears in the lower portion of the
written character. The Chinese fan proper is now a light
frame of bamboo or ivory, round or otherwise, over which
silk has been stretched, since the 4th cent. A.D., for
purposes of painting or calligraphy. The ^ ^ folding fan
was invented by the Japanese, and was first mentioned
in the iith cent, by Su Tung-p‘o as having come to
China through Korea. In the early years of the 15 th
cent, folding fans formed part of the tribute sent from
Korea to Peking, and one writer mentions, as a curiosity,
four Japanese folding fans which had been given to him
by Father Ricci, the eminent Jesuit, whom by the way
he calls a ® ^ A • Fans are used by the Chinese,
men and women alike, from the highest officials down to
the lowest coolie, and even by the very soldiers in the
ranks. Different kinds are used at different seasons by
all who can afford to pay for this form of luxury, and
it is considered ridiculous to be seen with a fan either

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too early or too late in the year. They are made to
serve the same purpose as an album among friends of a
literary turn, who paint flowers upon them for each other
and inscribe verses in what is sometimes called the “fan
language.” They are also used to circulate the news of
any important event among the people at large-, e.g.,
the Tientsin Massacre, the brutalities of which were depicted
in glowing colours upon cheap paper fans and sold in
large quantities until prohibited by the officials. At Canton,
and probably elsewhere, fans may be purchased having
on one side a plan of the city with the names of the
principal streets, temples, yamens, etc., printed in small
Chinese characters.

Mr. Stent published the Index to his vocabulary on
photographed slips pasted on to the frame of a common
fan. Others are sold which are fans only in form, being
really sheaths for daggers, as carried by street rowdies, etc.
A deserted wife is spoken of metaphorically as “an autumn
fan,” ^ . See U^nbrella^ Red^ and Etiquette.

FAN-T‘AI: A high provincial authority in China,

known to foreigners as the Commissioner of Finance or
Provincial Treasurer. Is charged with the fiscal or financial
administration of a province. Controls, as head of the
civil service, the nomination to, and distribution of, nearly
all the minor appointments therein, subject always to the
approval of the Fu-Pai or Governor.

FANTAN: ^ti|. The celebrated method of gambling
with cash (q^v.).^ common in China. {Fan here means
“number of times,” and t'^an “to apportion,” in allusion
to the payment of stakes so many times the original
amount according to circumstances). A pile of the coin
is covered with a bowl, and the players stake on what

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the remainder will be when the heap has been divided
by 4 — namely i, 2, 3, nothing. The croupier then counts
the whole rapidly out by subtracting 4 cash at each
sweep of a small rod used for that purpose. Players who
stake on the winning number^ get 3 times the amount
of their original stake, less 7 per cent commission for
the good of the house. Thus, a dollar will return $ 2.79
clear profit. Suppose however that the dollar is placed
midway between two nufnbers^ and one of these turns
out to be the winning number, the bank pays once the
amount of the stake, less commission = $ 0.93 net profit.
Again, supposing the dollar to be placed between numbers
I and 2, so as to be more on 2 than on i. If 2 cash are
left, the player receives twice his stake, less commission,
and if i is left, he receives his dollar back.

F'AR EAST. Fr. L’Extreme-Orient. A term which includes
China, Japan, the Philippines, the Malay peninsula,
Siam, etc.

FA Ti; — flower grounds. The well-known Chinese

gardens on the opposite bank of the river to the city of
Canton are so called.

FAVOURED-NATION CLAUSE. The article in a Treaty
— eg.^ the Treaty concluded at Tientsin, 1858, between
the British and Chinese Governments — by which it is
stipulated that “the British Government and its subjects
“will be allowed free and equal participation in all
“privileges, immunities, and advantages that may have
“been, or may be hereafter, granted by His Majesty the
“Emperor of China to the Government or Subjects of
“any other nation.” Art. LIV.

The term originated from the frequent occurrence
in such clauses of the actual words “favoured nation.”

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See Treaty between Russia and China, English version,
Art. XII.

FEAST OF LANTERNS : |j! . Held annually on the

15th of the first Chinese moon, i.e.^ at the first full moon
of the year, when coloured lanterns are hung at every
door. Originally a ceremonial worship in the temple of
the First Cause, dating from about the time of the Han
dynasty. The mid-autumn festival of the 15th of the 8th
moon is sometimes so called by foreigners.

No respectable Chinaman is ever seen out after dark
without a lantern.

FEET. See Small Feet.

FEMALE CHILDREN. See Infanticide.

FfiNG-HUANG FUNG-HWANG: J|lM. A fabulous
bird of good omen. Said to appear in times of national
prosperity. Generally translated by phoenix.

FENG-SHUI or FUNG-SHWUY: M. pft—wind and water,
or that which cannot be seen, and that which cannot
be grasped. The great geomantic system of the Chinese,
by the science of which it is possible to determine the
desirability of sites whether of tombs, houses, or cities,
from the configuration of such natural objects as rivers,
trees, and hills, and to foretell with certainty the fortunes
of any family, community, or individual, according to the
spot selected; by the art of which it is in the power of
the geomancer to counteract evil influences by good ones,
to transform straight and noxious outlines into undulating
and propitious curves, rescue whole districts from the
devastations of flood or pestilence, and “scatter plenty
o’er a smiling land” which might otherwise have known
the blight of poverty and the pangs of want. It is said
to have been first applied to graves by ^ ^ Kuo P'o,

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a learned scholar who died A.D. 324, and to house-
building by ^ ^ Wang Chi, a scholar of the Sung
dynasty.

For many years the Chinese urged that the introduction
of railways and telegraph poles would seriously injure the
Feng-shui or prosperity of the districts through which they
might be carried ; but this view is gradually melting
away, even in the eyes of the most bigoted of Chinese
statesmen, “into the infinite azure of the past.”

As one example among many, we may state that the
roofs of adjoining houses are never built on the same
level. Hence the Fcng-shui of Oxford Street would in
this respect be, considered good ; that of most Parisian
thoroughfares, bad. For a grave, a wide river in front,
a high cliff behind, with enclosing hills to the right and
left, would constitute a first-class geomantic position.

Houses and graves face the south, because the annual
animation of the vegetable kingdom with the approach of
summer comes from that quarter; the deadly influences
of winter from the north.

FERINGHEES. Franks. Epithet first applied by the Chinese
to the early Portuguese traders. See Enamel.
FESTIVALS, CHINESE. See Moon. The more important
of these are

(1) New Year’s Day, when all business is absolutely
suspended.

(2) Feast of Lanterns (q.v.)^ 15th day of ist moon.

(3) Festival of Ancestral Worship igth. of 2nd moon.

(4) Festival of Dragon Boats (q-'O.)^ 5 ^^ 5 ^^ moon.

(5) Festival of Mid- Autumn, 15th of 8th moon.

(6) Festival of All Souls (in Purgatory), ist to 9th of
loth moon.

94 A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

FEUDATORIES, THE THREE; H H 3E ■ Three powerful
leaders who were appointed by the Emperor K'ang Hsi
to rule over large portions of the empire in a semi-
independent fashion. They were Shang K‘o-hsi,

^ ^ Keng Ching-chung, and ^ ^ Wu San-kuei.

FIG, CHINA. The persimmon (q.v.)^ is so called; but the
Chinese grow real figs, which they call ^ ^ ^ or the
“flowerless fruit.”

FI-HI: M — fast crabs. A class of war-junk is so called.

FILIAL PIETY, THE CLASSIC OF ; # ^ . A record
of a conversation between Confucius and a disciple, named
Tseng Ts'an, on the subject of filial piety. Its genuineness
has been doubted, though it is at least as old as the
I St cent. B.C. Confucius declared in the Ana /ec^s thsit true
filial piety does not consist in toiling for and supporting
parents, but rather in guarding them from mental annoyance
while alive, and in following out their injunctions when
dead. He also insists upon a reverential care of the person,
as a sacred trust which may not be regarded lightly.

FILIPINOS. The native inhabitants of the Philippines (see
Luzon). They are of Malay origin, and number from six
to eight millions. They are divided into various tribes,
scattered over the numerous islands of the Philippine
group. Many of them are civilised, while others live in
a savage state. Some are not of full Malay blood, but
are half-breed Negritos.

FINALS. See Spelling System.

FINGERS: The following are common names for

the fingers: ^ or ^ ^ the big finger or commanding

finger (= thumb), the tasting finger, the

middle finger, ^ ^ ^ the nameless finger, ^ the
little finger. For purposes of numeration every finger on

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the left hand represents nine figures, the little finger the
units, the ring finger the tens, the middle finger the
hundreds, the forefinger the thousands, the thumb the
tens of thousands. The three inner joints represent from
I to 3, the three outer joints 4 to 6, the right side of
each joint 7 to 9. The forefinger on the right hand is
employed for pointing to the figure to be called into use-
thus, 1,234 would at once be denoted by just touching
the inside of the upper joint of the forefinger, representing
1,000; then the inside of the second, or middle joint of
the middle finger, representing 200 ; thirdly, the inside
of the lower joint of the ring finger, representing 30,
and lastly, the upper joint of the little finger touched on
the outside, representing 4.

The figures i — 10 are commonly expressed in con-
versation by the following signs :

1. Close the fist and hold up the thumb.

2. „ „ „ „ n fore and middle fingers.

3. , „ „ , „ , middle, third, and little fingers.

4. Hold up 4 fingers, knuckles towards spectator, thumb

concealed.

5. Hold up open hand, palm to spectator.

6. Close the fist, hold up thumb and little finger.

V V

„ „ thumb, fore, and middle finger.

V V

„ „ thumb and forefinger.

» V

„ „ forefinger like a hook.

10.

n V

„ „ fore and middle finger crossed.

FIRE-CRACKERS.

Are employed by the Chinese at all

kinds

ceremonies, religious and otherwise ; the idea

being

frighten

away devils and malicious spirits.

FIRST

EMPEROR

• Reigned over China B.C.

221 — 209. Attempted to make history begin with himself,

96 A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

and accordingly gave orders for the destruction of all
literature. See Burning of the Books, Built the Great Wall.

FISHES, TWO. Often seen on Chinese envelopes, from
an old story of a letter ‘having once been conveyed in a
fish’s belly. Also, as a fanciful shop-sign to aid customers
in finding the house they want, when two tradesmen in
the same line and of the same name happen to carry on
their business in adjoining houses. Huge gilt cash and
other ornamental designs are often suspended outside
shop doors with the same object.

FISHING CORMORANT: Phalocrocorax carbo.

Found in many parts of China and taught to catch fish,
at first with a ring round the neck to prevent it from
swallowing the quarry. Also called the black devil,^

and catch fish gentle7nan^ the latter term being

a borrowed name of the kingfisher.

FIVE CLASSICS, THE. See Ching,

FIVE HUNDRED GENII. The Five Hundred Lohan (q,v,)
are so called.

FIVE RELATIONSHIPS. See Sacred Edict.

FLOWER-BOAT: A large ornamental barge, used

by the jeunesse doree of China for drinking bouts, picnics,
suppers, etc. In some districts these boats are painted blue.

FLOWERY LAND, THE: 0M A common Chinese
name for China, similar to la belle France,^ and not
necessarily implying the presence of flowers.

FO or FOH: or^^ . See Characters. The first of the

Chinese characters employed to represent the sound
Buddha (q>v.). Now universally used in China for the
whole word.

A resemblance has been pointed out in the composition
of to the monogram of the letters I. H. S., which are

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vulgarly supposed to stand for yesus Hominum Salvator^
whereas they are really nothing more than the three first
letters of the Greek name 1H20Y^ — Jesus. This faint
similarity is of course beneath notice, and not to be
compared with the startling resemblances between the
instrumental and other parts of the Buddhist and Roman
Catholic religions. Among the most striking points may
be cited the use of candles, flowers, vestments, beads,
holy water, relics, and masses for the souls in Purgatory ;
not to mention celibacy, fasting, the shaven heads of the
priests, the robe folded over the breast in the form of
a cross^ the immaculate conception of Maya ^ the
mother of Buddha, etc., etc.

FOKIEN or FUHKIEN: iHS ^ — happily established. One
of the Eighteen Provinces; capital city Fu-chou Fu
li on the Min ti| , which latter character is also

the old name of the province.

FOOT-BINDING, See Small Feet.

FORBIDDEN CITY, THE: M M ^ • The inner

area of the Tartar section of Peking, upon which stands
the Imperial palace, is so called by foreigners, being a
translation of the first Chinese phrase given above. Also
known as the Purple Forbidden City.

FORBIDDEN LAND, THE. A name formerly applied to
Korea

FOREIGN DIRT. A name for opium borrowed from

the Chinese use of the word earth.

FOREST OF PENCILS. A name applied by foreigners
to the Han-lin College, being a literal rendering of the
Chinese characters.

FORMOSA. “Beautiful.” The Portuguese name for the
island of Taiwan fq-v.J. Partly occupied in the seventeenth

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century by the Dutch (see Koxinga ) ; now, by 4 ^ ^
savages on the hills in the interior, by Japanese and
Chinese along the western seaboard, and by Pepo-hwans
(q.v-J between the other two.

FOUR BOOKS:

1. — The Great Learning.

2. — The Doctrine of the Mean.

3. — The Confucian Analects.

4. — The Works of Mencius.

The first portion of the Chinese student’s curriculum,
from which are invariably taken the themes set at the
examination for the degree of hstu-ts''ai (q^v.) or bachelor
of arts.

FOUR SEAS, THE: ^ 'M. The seas by which the Chinese
believe that the Middle Kingdom (q.v.) is bounded. Now
often used for the whole world; e.g . — ‘‘all within the
“Four Seas are brothers.”

FOUR WONDERFUL WORKS: 0 A ^

-f-*

(1) —

(2) ® IE

( 3 )

(4) 'Pif

Another classification includes the works designed by
the Emperor K‘ang Hsi, namely:

Four novels which
are held in high
estimation by the
Chinese.

^ ^ see Dictionaries.

see Concordance.
see Encyclopaedias .

^ ^ an encyclopaedia in 150 vols.

FOXES. Are regarded as uncanny creatures by the Chinese,
able to assume human shapes and work endless mischief
(chiefly in love affairs) upon those who may be unfortunate

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enough to fall under their spell. In some parts of China,
it is customary for mandarins to keep their seals of office
in what is called a “fox chamber;” but the character
for fox is never written, the sight of it being supposed
to be very irritating to the live animal. A character
which has the same sound, is substituted ; and even that
is divided into its component parts and ^ , so as to
avoid even the slightest risk of offence. This device is
often adopted for the inscriptions on shrines erected in
honour of the fox.

FREEMASONRY, as we understand the term, is unknown
in China. Secret Societies (g^v.) abound, and some of
them (see Triad Society) practise rites of initiation and
administer oaths similar in character to those which
constitute the ritual of Western masonry.

FRIEND OF CHINA. The bamboo (g^v.J. This term has
been adopted, with less justice, for their journak by the
Society for the suppression of the opium trade in China.

FU or FUH: ijiS — happiness. Constantly seen on doorposts,
vases, etc. The Chinese have a hundred fanciful ways of
writing both this and the character for Show fgw.J old
age. Another common character of this kind is -g- hsi
joy, which often occurs on tea-pots, cuspidors, etc., in a
duplicated form, thus .

FUKEY or FOKEE. Native Chinese as opposed to foreign.
From the Cantonese pronunciation of a partner

and even a friend. Anglice, mate.

British sentry, during occupation of Canton, to passing
Celestial : —

Q. Who goes there
A. Fukey — (a friend).

Chinese dogs are usually called fzikey-dogs.^ and foreigners

lOO

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may be not unfrequently heard to designate a Chinaman
as a “dirty fukey.”

FUN or FEN: ^ — a share. The looth part of a Chinese
ounce of silver. A candareen.

FUNERALS. At death, the Chinese close the eyes of the
corpse, put a little rice and money or powdered jade in
its mouth, cover the face with a napkin, clench the two
fists, remove all curtains (as likely to retard the passage
of the spirit), and then keep watch round it all night.
On the second day the body is washed, and dressed in
warm clothes lined with red (see Colottrs)^ the head and
face being entirely concealed. Priests are hired, and they
begin their duties by “warming the coffin” with small
hand-stoves, after which the body is carefully deposited
therein. The family tailor then steps forward, and with
a pair of scissors rapidly cuts away an oval of cloth so
as to expose the face to view. The family crowd round
to take a last look, and the lid is fastened down. A
curtain is hung up in front of the coffin, and friends are
admitted to kotow (q.v.) to the spirit of the dead.

Sometimes the coffin remains for months, and even
years, in the house, before a burial-ground can be obtained
or an auspicious day arranged for the funeral. Sometimes
it is deposited on the premises of the Guild (q^v,) to
which deceased belonged, or in a neighbouring temple*,
until, preceded by a tablet carried in a sedan-chair, to
represent the spirit of the deceased, and accompanied by
a train of mourners in coarse ashen-coloured garments, it
is gently carried to its final place of interment.

FUNG SHUEY. See Feng Shui,

U-NING FU:^i A Treaty Port near the Samsah

inlet in Fuhkien.

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lOI

FUSAN or PUSAN: ^ li| • A port in Korea opened by
the Treaty of 26th November 1883.

FUSANG: or ^ A country named after a plant

so called which was seen growing there, and is said, but
without foundation, to be the Mexican aloe. Identified
by Klaproth with Saghalien; by Leland, with part of the
American continent; and by others, with Japan. Visited
by a Chinese Buddhist priest in the 5th century, to whom,
were Leland ’s view correct, would be due the honour of
the discovery of America.

FUSIYAMA: (i) ^ IJ4 — the incomparable hill; (2) ^
dt II4 — learned scholar’s hill. The celebrated mountain
— an extinct volcano — of Japan. Is about 12,600 feet
above the level of the sea, and is composed chiefly of
cinders which swarm with myriads of small insects. Lady
Parkes was the first European lady who ever reached its
summit. Last eruption took place in 1707. The following
is an imitation of a Japanese ode in which the word is
introduced as a pun.

Now hid from sight are great Mt. Fusi’s fires —

Mt. Fusi, said I? ’Tis myself, I mean!

P'or the word rusi signifies, I ween,

Fezv sec the constant flame of my desires.

B, H. Chamberlain.

FUSUMA. Japanese sliding screen, covered with wall paper.

FUT‘AI or FOO-YUEN :||S a ^ |^— the tranquilliser.
Governor of a province. Ranks with the Governor-General
or Viceroy, and exercises much the same functions in a
slightly inferior degree; but in provinces where there is
no Viceroy, wields the supreme power.

FUTURE STATE. The belief in spirits and in a future
state generally has prevailed in China from the earliest
ages, though not in any way recognised by Confucianism

102

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which preserves an agnostic attitude towards all spiritual
questions. A heaven and a hell were introduced by the
Buddhists, and borrowed by the Taoists as a

defensive measure against their more attractive rival. The
popular belief now is that there is a world of shades,
an exact model of the present life, with penalties and
rewards for wicked and deserving persons.

GAGS : . Are used to prevent soldiers from talking

during a night attack, in ambuscade, etc. They are first
mentioned in B.C. 208, and as late as 1874 when Li
Hung-chang made his famous forced march to Peking to
the aid of the Empress Dowager.

GALANGAL: ^ S — “Liang” ginger, or ginger from
K ifip Kao-liang Fu, which is the old name of the
modern ^ jfj Kao-chou Fu in the province of Kuang-
tung. The word Galangal is probably a corruption of
Kao-liang-kiang or Kao-liang ginger.

GALAW : A meaningless term peculiar to the

Cantonese dialect, employed to finish off a sentence
euphoniously, at the same time adding an indefinable
something to the force of the words spoken. May be
compared, in some respects, with the French allez^ eg.^
“Je me moque pas mal de lui, allez!” Has been introduced
into pidgin-English ^ eg. “You too muchee saucy, galaw!”

GARDEN OF ASIA. A name given to the vicinity of the
three cities of Kashgar, Yangy Hissar, and Yarkand, from
the great fertility of that region, which was artificially
induced by the admirable irrigation system of the Chinese
settlers.

GARDEN OF CHINA. The province of Shansi has been
so called. So also the province of Ssu-ch'uan ; see Shanghai
Mercury^ 14 November 1884.

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103

GAUTAMA: ^ ^ ^ or ^ A. From gau earth and
tama most victorious. The sacerdotal name of the Shakya
family (q^v.)^ that family being said to be the most
victorious on earth.

GEGEN. A living Buddha or Hutukhtu (q-'v.).

GEISHA: g#. A Japanese singing or dancing-girl.

GENGHIS KHAN — the “greatest” Khan. Written ^ ^
in the ^ @ . Also known as Temujin

or The great Mongol conqueror of

China, A.D. 1162 — 1227.

GENJI MONOGATARI. The first Japanese novel, by
Murasaki no Shikibu, a woman. It is assigned to the
close of the loth cent.

GENSxA.N or WONSAN: 7C U 4 . A port in Korea opened
to foreign trade by the Treaty of 26th November 1883.

GEOMANCY: See Feng Shui.

GHARRY. A kind of four-wheeled carriage in use at
Singapore. From the Hindi gdri.

GIALBOS: The descendants of the ancient kings

of Tibet, who ruled that country before the Lamas (q.v.)
began to usurp temporal power.

GIBRALTAR OF CHINA. See Hongkong.

GINGALL or GINJAL. See Jingal.

GINSENG: ^ — image of man. A (Panax repens)

found in Manchuria, Korea, America, and elsewhere, the
root of which is believed to resemble the human body in
shape. It is much valued by the Chinese as a strengthening
medicine, and the Emperor, to whom all ginseng found
in China belongs of right, occasionally bestows small
quantities on deserving officials who may happen to be
in failing health.

Popular superstition says that after three centuries the

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ginseng plant changes into a man with white blood, which
is the veritable elixir of immortality, a few drops being
sufficient to raise a dead man to life.

Ginseng is of two distinct kinds, viz., that which is
found wild and commands fancy prices, and that which is
cultivated for the wholesale trade and is of incomparably
less value. The latter fetches from two to twelve taels
a catty, while the former is sometimes worth as much as
one thousand taels a catty. The older the plant, the
more it is valued; and the age of the wild root may be
ascertained by marks upon the stem and other peculiarities
of structure.

Ordinary ginseng is prepared by simply drying the root
in the sun, or over a charcoal fire. To prepare the red or
clarified ginseng, the root is placed in wicker baskets
which are put in a large earthen vessel with a close-fitting
cover and pierced at the bottom with holes. This is set
over boiling water, and the roots are steamed according
to their age, about four hours being an average time.

GIORO or GHIORO: The Manchu surname of the

present Imperial family of China. The legendary progenitor
of the Manchu chieftains who subsequently reached the
throne bore the surname of Aisin Gioro
or “Golden Race,” and the Manchu nation was known
to the Chinese at the time of the Sungs fg^v.J as the
^ or “Golden Dynasty.” All Red Girdles are

called Gioros^ as opposed to Vellow Girdles who are
“of the Imperial family.” As to pronunciation,
this word would be more accurately written giolo^ the g
being soft. Is often seen on visiting cards, as a title,
preceding the name.

^ ^ . This animal is figured and

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105

described in the T^u shu (see Encyclopaedias) as a native
of Libya. It is there said to turn round and show off
its beauty to spectators, as though quite enjoying being
looked at. See Kilin.

GIRDLE, RED : ^ ^ “T* • A distinctive badge worn by
members of the collateral branches of the present Imperial
family of China in the male line for ever, dating from the
Manchu chieftain now known as ^ “By Heaven’s

command,” A.D. 1616. Those entitled to wear the red
girdle are also called Gioros (q.vj.

GIRDLE, YELLOW : ^ ^ . Is worn by the direct

issue of the Emperors of the present dynasty and their
descendants in the male line for ever, dating from the
Manchu chieftain A.D. 1616. See Gioro, “Each

“generation becomes a degree lower in rank, until they
“are mere members of the family with no rank whatever,
“though they still wear the girdle and receive a trifling
“allowance from the Government. Beggars and even
“thieves are occasionally seen with this badge of relationship
“to the Throne.” — G. C. Stent.

“The imperial family wear a golden yellow sash, and
“the gioro a red one-, when degraded, the former take
“a red sash, and the latter a carnation one.” — Chinese
Ckrestoma thy.

GLASS : ^ po 4 i. First manufactured in China, A.D.
424. The term po-li., which occurs as early as A.D. 643,
and which is evidently of foreign origin, has been the
subject of much discussion, and has been identified with
the Turkish billur.^ with polish.^ with vtdno{\) and recently
by Dr. Hirth with ^belor or dolor meaning glass or crystal
“in several Central Asiatic languages.” See Mirrors,

GO-BANG. The now celebrated Japanese game recently

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introduced into England. Called by the Japanese gomo-ku
narabe 3S1 n M., z.e., five eyes in a row, the book name
being “draw five.”

Go-bang is simply ^ ^ or checker-board. The object
of the game is to get five checkers or counters in a row.

GO Ox\: The pronunciation of Chinese as first

learnt by the Japanese at the end of the 3rd and beginning
of the 4th centuries, A.D., representing the dialect of
modern Nanking and Soochow. See Kan On and To On.

GOD. See Heaven and Term Question.

GODOWN or ^ ^ . (i) Originally a cellar or place

to which it was necessary to go down. Now, a warehouse.
(2) From the Malay g^dong^ a warehouse.

GOL. A Mongol word signifying river; e.g.^ the Erguo gol.

GOLD, SWALLOWING: ^ Euphemistically used

among the Chinese for suicide by poison, chiefly in the
case of high officials who have received intimation from
Peking that their lives are no longer wanted. Absurdly
supposed by some foreigners and many ignorant natives
to signify death from swallowing lumps of gold, or inhaling,
or suffocating oneself with, gold-leaf. This mistake has
been made by most writers on Chinese subjects, such as
Doolittle, Williams {Middle Kingdo^n.^ II. 543) and others;
and a qualified European practitioner wrote as follows
in the Customs’ Gazette, No. XXXIII, January — March,
1877:—

“Gold-leaf poisoning appears to be seldom practised
“here (Kiukiang) as a method of committing suicide,
“as I have heard of only one case during my three years’
“residence .... Gold-leaf, where it does not suffocate,
“must act simply as an irritant, and therefore I should
“consider that the rational treatment would be the

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE 107

“continuous exhibition of alkalies, with demulcent drinks
“and emetics.”

But it might just as well be argued that ® ^ “to
present silk” must necessarily mean an Imperial gift of a
few bales to a deserving mandarin, instead of, as it
actually does, a peremptory command to strangle himself
forthwith.

The Hsi-yuan-lu^ or Instructions to Coroners, uses the
term in the sense of lump gold or silver, and gives
directions for softening the swallowed metal so as to
make it pass easily through the intestines. And a case
is quoted of a Brigadier-General who swallowed three
finger-rings and died after severe vomiting.

GOLD FISH: ^ ^ or Cypri?ms auratzis. First mentioned
by Su Tung-p‘o, A.D. 1036 — iioi, as follows:

Upon the bridge, the live-long day,

I stand and watch the gold fish play.

GOLDEN FOOT, THE. Generally and wrongly used for
the King of Burmah. Mgr. Pallegoix, in his Description
dll Royattme Thai on Siar?i^ p. 260, speaking of the King
of Siam says, “II n’est pas permis de le nommer par son
“propre nom ; il faut le designer par les titres rapportes
“ci-dessus,” and then he gives a list of ten titles, the first
of which is phra-bat or the “divine feet.” Now Rees’
Encyclopaedia, under the word Prabat^ after explaining
that pra means anything worthy of veneration and that
bat means “foot,” refers the term to one of the famous
footprints of Buddha to which the king renders homage
once a year when he visits it with great pomp and parade,
and which has been covered with a plate of gold. Thus
it is this footprint which is the “Golden Foot,” the proper
title of the King of Siam being “Divine Feet-” but both

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are in Siamese called Phra-bat'^ hence the confusion.
Again, Rees says (see Birman) the queen and princes
have the title of '^Praw^' and it is probably from the
similarity of this word to Phra that a further confusion
arose between the title of the King of Siam and that of
the queen and princes of Burmah. Of the Siamese, Captain
James Low writes, “everything holy or magnificent is
“with them, as with the Burmese, golden P

GOLDEN LILIES: ^ A poetical name for the cramped
feet of Chinese women. From an expression used by the
monarch Tung Hun Hou^-^^, A.D. 498 — 502, in
admiration of his concubine P'an as she danced

upon a stage ornamented with lilies: — “Every footstep
“makes a lily grow.”

GOLDEN ORCHID SOCIETY: ^ M #• A secret
association of unmarried girls who bind themselves not
to cohabit with their husbands after matrimony (which
they are unable to avoid), but to leave them and return
to their old homes or go elsewhere. Strictly prohibited
by the officials in China.

GOLDEN SAND, RIVER OF: The name of

the Yang-tsze (g-v,) above Hsu-chou Fu in Ssu-ch‘uan.
Thence to the borders of Kokonor, the name is further
changed to In Kokonor it is known as

MM and ^ ^ i.e. Murus-usu ; and

near its source as Kachi-uran.

GOLDEN TARTARS: ^ A tribe of Tartars, also
known as ^ Nu-chen, who under the leadership of
a chieftain named jSPf 4 T Akuta, threw off allegiance
to the Kitans and established an independent empire,
A.D. 1 1 14. In 1122 Peking was captured, and the Kitan
power came to an end.

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109

GOLDEN YOUTH, THE. A name applied to Hung
Wu, the founder of the Ming dynasty, A.D. 1368, in
reference to the good luck which attended him. See
Beggar King.

GONGEN. General designation of native Shinto (q^v.) gods
in Japan.

GONGS: Are beaten at intervals before the cavalcade

of a Mandarin to warn the people to stand aside. For the
Viceroy and officials of equal rank 13 consecutive blows
are given; for the Fan-t'ai, Tao-t‘ai, etc., ii; for the
Prefect 9. Officials below this rank are only entitled to
use gongs beyond the limits of the capital of a province,
e.g., in District, cities, where 7 blows would signal the
coming of the magistrate. Gongs are much used in
religious ceremonies, and as salutes by passing junks
belonging to the same fleet. Hence the proverb ^ ^ ^
7 iot to beat gongs., i.e., not to sahite said of persons no
longer on speaking terms. As to etymology, Webster
gives ^Malayan (Java) gong\' but the Chinese word Jl
king (the e pronounced like the u in stmg) the night-watch,
may possibly be the true source of the term, and the
origin of the Malay word. Substituted by foreigners in
China for

. that all-softening, overpowering knell,

“The tocsin of the soul — the dinner bell.”

At wrecks of junks the Chinese are very careful to
save the gongs, and will not ever part with them under
any consideration. To do so would entail “bad joss” on
further enterprises.

GONSAI. (Jap.) A concubine, as opposed to the honsai or
real wife.

GON-TENJl: ® ^ The Imperial concubines of Japan.

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Gon is an honorary prefix, almost equivalent to Her
Highness.

GOOSEBERRY, THE CANTON. See Carambola.

GOSSAMER. Is supposed by the Chinese to be the remains
of birds which have flown too high and become dissipated
in mid air. Compare the German belief that it is the
winding-sheet of the Virgin Mary, which fell off when
she was taken up to heaven.

GOVERNMENT OF CHINA. Is nominally an autocracy,
but really a democracy. The Emperor is supposed to be
the Vicegerent of Heaven, with the lives and properties
of the Chinese people at his absolute disposal. He reigns
however rather than rules, leaving the administration in
the hands of the Six Boards (qro.). The provinces are
under the charge of Viceroys and Governors, responsible
only to the Throne (see Tartar Ge^ieral'), Below them
come the Treasurer, Judge, and Salt Commissioner. Then
come the Tao-t‘ais, Prefects, District Magistrates, fqq.v.J,
and a host of subordinate officials, each of whom is
responsible to his immediate superior for the proper
administration of his department and the peaceful behaviour
of the people with whom he is brought in contact. Anything
in the way of oppression or injustice is met by a popular
rising, and the career of the official in question is generally
at an end. Taxes are rarely imposed or increased without
a previous consultation with the local merchants or elders
concerned, or they would be resisted to the death. In
other words, the people tax themselves (see Likin).

GOVERNOR. See Fut^ai.

GOVERNOR-GENERAL. See Tsung^tuh.

GRAMMAR. Every word in Chinese being a monosyllable,
incapable of inflexion, agglutination, or change of any

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1 1 1

kind, there cannot possibly be such a thing as grammar
in our sense of the term. The Chinese have no grammar
of their own language, nor any equivalent by which the
idea could be expressed.

“Jetez VOS grammaires au feu.” Prof. Schlegel.

“We should like to see all so-called Chinese grammars
in the flames: they are quite as dangerous as they can
be advantageous.” E. H. Parker.

GRAND CANAL: ^ — transport river or ^ river

of locks. Extends from Tientsin to Hang-chou Fu, the
capital of Chehkiang, a distance of about 650 miles,
and completes an almost unbroken water communication
between Peking and Canton. Designed and executed by
the first Mongol Emperor of China, Kublai Khan (q>v.).^
who was materially assisted in his project by the canals
dug during the reign of Yang Ti in the early part of
the seventh century, to connect the Yellow River with
the Yangtsze.

GRAND EXAMINERS; ± #. Officers imperially com-
missioned to hold examinations at the various provincial
capitals for the purpose of conferring the chii jen or
master’s degree. These examinations take place once in
every three years.

GRAND SECRETARIES : ^ i . The four principal

members of the Chinese Cabinet Council. Two are
Manchus and two Chinese. There are also two Assistant
G. Secretaries, one Manchu and one Chinese. The term
was first used under the T^ang dynasty.

GRAPE, THE: ^ ^ or Vitis vinifera^ L. Said to have
been introduced from Central Asia into China about
B.C. 126, subsequent to which date bunches of grapes
appeared for a time in ornamental designs, on the

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backs of mirrors (q.v.) as first pointed out by Dr. Hirth.
Grape-wine was also made, and it is frequently mentioned
as in use under the T‘ang dynasty. The Chinese term
p''u-Pao^ which is evidently of foreign origin, has been
identified with the Greek ^ozpvc a cluster of grapes.

GRASS CHARACTER: — plant character. The

Chinese running hand. So called because of its irregular
plant-like appearance. Chiefly used in business-, never in
official documents. Dates from the Han dynasty, previous
to which there was a kind of writing known as ^ ^ .

GRASS-CLOTH: 5^ — summer cloth. A kind of linen
made from the fibre of a hemp-producing plant called
China Grass (q.v.).

GREAT DEVELOPMENT: ^—Mahayana. Also called
vehicle and conveyance. The system developed by the
northern Buddhists of India about the time of the Christian
era, and propagated in China, Japan, Mongolia, Tibet,
and Nepaul. Its chief features were the addition of a
number of new Buddhas and Bodhisatvas, new worlds
for them to live in, and a general extension of the
mythological element. The Lesser Developmefit /J^ ^ or
Hinayana, is based upon the original books of Buddhism,
and is the system of the Cingalese, Siamese, and Burmese.

GREAT LEARNING: One of the Four Books

(q>v,). “What the Great Learning teaches is — to illustrate
“illustrious virtue; to renovate the people; and to rest
“in the highest excellence.” — Legge" s Lranslation.

Its author is unknown. Chu Hsi attributes a part to
Confucius himself, regarding the rest as commentary; but
Dr. Legge thinks it was more probably the work of K‘ung
Chi ^ , grandson of Confucius and author of the

Doctrme of the Mean, The following is a specimen : —

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“There is no evil which a mean man will not perpetrate
“when he is alone. But when he sees a superior man, he
“instantly tries to dissimulate, concealing what is evil and
“displaying what is good. The other, however, sees into
“his very soul; so that dissimulation avails him naught.
“So true is the saying that that which is really within
“will be manifested without. Therefore the superior man
“must be watchful over himself when he is alone.”

The term Great Learning, adopted by Dr. Legge,
rather obscures the meaning of the Chinese, the latter
being in reality R A Learning for Adults. See

T/ie Little Learning.

GREAT WALL, THE; ^ — the ten thousand

mile rampart. Designed and for the most part built by
the first universal monarch of China, Shih Huang-ti
who came to the throne B.C. 221, as a means
of defence against the Mongolian hordes, and named by
him the “Red Fort” ^ as being an addition to the
nine old frontier forts which guarded the Empire of China.
Is about 1400 miles (English) in length, twenty-two feet
in height, and twenty feet in thickness. Passes over hilly
districts, sometimes to an elevation of 5,000 ft. At intervals
of 1 00 yards or so are towers, some forty feet high ; the
whole being built of brick, except towards its western
extremity, where it is barely more than a huge mud
bank. Is the most noticeable work of man on the globe.

GREEN HEADS, THE: A sobriquet given to

the Anglo-Chinese contingent at Ningpo, long and ably
commanded by Colonel Cooke, formerly of the “Ever
Victorious Army” (q.v.J.

GREEN TEA. Generally believed to be prepared from
the leaves of a different species of plant from that which

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114

furnishes black tea, whereas the distinction between the
two lies only in the mode of preparation.

. . for I grow pathetic,

Moved by the Chinese nymph of tears, green tea.”

Byro?i.

GRIFFIN. A new arrival in the East; equivalent to a
‘‘freshman” at Oxford. See title-page.

Also, a racing pony that runs for the first time.

GROSVENOR MISSION. A mission consisting of the Hon.
T. G. Grosvenor, A. Davenport, and E. C. Baber, sent to
Yunnan to enquire into the circumstances of the murder
of Mr. Margary. See Ytmnan Outrage.

“GUESS FINGERS.” See Chai Mui.

GUILDS: ^ — meeting houses. The trades’-unions of

China, except that there is here no combination of
Labour against Capital as with us, but merely a union
of merchants or traders in any particular branch of
commerce, with a view to facilitate and render more
successful the business operations of each individual
member. The buildings in which these associations meet
are often very handsomely decorated, and are always
provided with a stage for theatrical performances.

GUNONG. A Javanese word meaning hill or mountain,
commonly occurring in names of places.

GUNPOWDER. Under the name of htw-yao j/C first
occurs early in the seventh century, when it was used
for fireworks. Guns, said to be of western origin, were
first used by Genghis Khan and Kublai Khan ; but were
first systematically employed in warfare during the reign
of Yung Lo of the Ming dynasty (15th century).

GUP. The Hindustani for gossip or scandal.. A few years
ago some letters were addressed to one of the Shanghai

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE 115

papers under this nom de pltime^ and Florence Marryat
has published a novel with this title.

GUTZLAFF : — horse footstep. An island off the

mouth of the Yangtsze, so called after a well-known
missionary of that name.

H ADAKA-ODORI. A dance in puris 7 iat 2 iralidus,
by Japanese courtesans. See Yoshiwara.

HADJI. A Mahommedan who undertakes the pilgrimage
to Mecca, the name being kept for the remainder of the
pilgrim’s life. Is a common term of respect in the Malay
peninsula.

HAIFANG: A Sub-prefect in charge of a maritime

Sub-prefecture, or f^ing. Literally: Coast-defence.

H AIK A I. A Japanese triplet of 5, 7, and 5 syllables only.
It was introduced about the close of the 15th cent. A.D.,
chiefly by a Buddhist priest named Yamazaki So-kan.

HAIKWAN, THE Superintendent of Chinese

Maritime Customs. Always a Chinese official, as distin-
guished from his European colleague, the Commissioner
of Customs This title is curiously applied by

the people of Swatow and Amoy to the British Consul,
in preference to the official ^ W , which is actually
not understood.

HAINAN, ISLAND OF: south of the sea.

Commonly known to the Chinese as K‘iung-chou ^ ^ .
being a prefecture of the Kuang-tung province.

HAIPHONG: J^[ 55 r. A port in Tongking, the trade of
which is chiefly confined to rice, with a small quantity of
silk, gambier, tin, varnish, and lacquer oil ; all of which
come from the interior.

HAIR, P'ALSE. Is occasionally worn by Chinamen who
for some reason or other have not presentable cuQsfg.v.J.

ii6 A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

Thieves invariably wear false cues which come off in the
hand when seized. The famous Empress Wu, who ruled
China from A.D. 684 to 705, used to wear a false beard
when presiding at State Councils.

HAKKAS: ^ % — strangers. A race said to have migrated
from the north of China (Kiangsu or Shantung) to the
Kuang-tung province at the time of the Yiian dynasty,
A.D. 1206 — 1368. For an elaborate account of this
people, see an article in Notes & Queries on China and
Japan^ Vol. i. No. 5, by Dr. Eitel.

HAKODATE: A port in the northern island of

Japan.

HAMPALANG A common expression in the

Canton and Swatow dialects meaning “all.” Like much
of the patois of China, it cannot, properly speaking, be
written; the three characters above giving only the sound
without conveying any meaning. Said by Mr. G. Minchin
to be a corruption of the Cantonese “wrap

up all and come,” as used by the bum-boat men at
Whampoa when directing their assistants to take away
whatever old clothes, etc., the sailors on the foreign ships
might have given them in payment for their eatables.
Being subsequently imitated by the Jacks themselves,
their corruption “hampalang” passed into the Cantonese
dialect as a convenient expression for “all.”

HAN, SON OF : •^. That is, a man who lived under

the Han dynasty, B.C. 206 — A.D. 221, the epoch of the
Renaissance of Chinese literature, often spoken of as the
brightest page of Chinese history. The name of the dynasty
came to be used as a synonym for China, in which sense
it is still employed.

HANG-CHOW ^ . The capital of Chehkiang, remarkable

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117

for the beauty of its surroundings. Divides with Soochow
the honour of being a terrestrial paradise.

Above, there is the Hall of God; below, there is
Soochow and Hangchow.

HANKOW : P — mouth of the Han (river), which here

joins its waters with those of the Yang-tsze. A port on
the Yang-tsze, opened by the Treaty of Tientsin in 1858,
though not occupied until 1861. Is 582 geographical
miles from Shanghai ; one of the five commercial centres
of China, and once the starting-post for the great annual
Ocean Race

HAN-LIN: ^ ^ — forest of pencils. A College in Peking,
the members of which are charged with the compilation
of dynastic history, Imperial decrees, and literary matters
in general. They draw up prayers and sacrificial addresses,
honorary titles for Dowager Empresses, patents of dignity
for the chief concubines of a deceased Emperor, make
offerings at the tomb of Confucius, etc., etc., while a
number of them are required to be in attendance on the
Emperor as readers, instructors, advisers, and so forth.
Admission to this body is the highest literary honour
obtainable by a Chinese scholar. Established early in
the 8th century by the emperor Hsuan Tsung of the
T'ang dynasty.

Seniority in the Han-lin College being determined by
date of entry, it often happens that an older man in
years has to address his younger but senior colleague in
a form which in every other Chinese walk of life would
be due from the younger to the older.

HANOI: P3. The capital of Tongking.

HAPPY VALLEY, THE: ^ —yellow mud creek.

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A valley in the island of Hongkong, covering about
thirty acres of ground, and used as a race-course. At
one side of it lies the beautiful cemetery where foreigners
are buried. The term Happy Valley belongs originally
to Dr. Johnson’s Rasselas, the history of a prince of
Abyssinia who travelled far and wide in search of true
happiness.

HARA KIRI: ^ WJ — belly cutting. Disembowelment ; the
form of suicide formerly in vogue among the Japanese.
Familiarly known to Europeans as the “happy despatch.”

HARE, THE: ^ or Lepus sinensis. Much legend and
superstition has gathered around this animal, which has
been for many centuries associated with the moon, the
first mention being in the poems of Ch^ii P'ing, 4th cent.
B.C. In later times the hare in the moon was believed
to be occupied in pounding drugs for the elixir of life.
The Chine.se do not seem to make any distinction between
hares and rabbits.

H ATOB A : A pier, or landing-place. [Japanese.]

Used much as matow (q.v.) in China.

HATS, CHINESE OFFICIAL. Are of two kinds, for
winter and for summer; called “warm hats” and

“cool hats” respectively. The latter are made of

a yellow grass : the former of black cloth, velvet, and
satin. Both have red tassels. ,The days for changing
from one to the other in spring and autumn vary in
various parts of the empire, as fixed by the provincial
officials in each case; but they are always (i) very shortly
before or after the “Beginning of Summer” at the end
of the 3rd or in the early part of the 4th moon, and (2)
some time between the mid-autumn festival on the 15th
of the 8th moon and the 9th of the 9th moon.

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119

HEATHEN CHINEE, THE. The title of Bret Harte’s
celebrated satire on the outcry against the employment
of Chinese labour in the Western States of America.

Which 1 wish to remark —

And my language is plain —

That for ways that are dark
And for tricks that are vain,

The heathen Chinee is peculiar,

Which the same I would rise to explain.

Ah Sin was his name ;

And 1 shall not deny
In regard to the same

What that name might imply.

But his smile it was pensive and childlike.
As 1 frequent remarked to Bill Nye.

It was August the third;

And quite soft was The skies;

Which it might be inferred
That Ah Sin was likewise ;

Vet he played it that day upon William
And me in a way I despise.

Which we had a small game,

And Ah Sin took a hand :

It was Euchre. The same
He did not understand;

But he smiled as he sat by the table.
With the smile that was childlike and bland.

Yet the cards they were stocked
In a way that I grieve.

And my feelings were shocked
At the state of Nye’s sleeve,

Which was stuffed full of aces and bowers.
And the same with intent to deceive.

But the hands that were played
By that heathen Chinee,

And the points that he made.

Were quite frightful to see —

Till at last he put down a right bower.
Which the same Nye had dealt unto me.

Then I looked up at Nye,

And he gazed upon me ;

And he rose with a sigh.

And he said, “Can this be?

We are ruined by Chinese cheap labour,”
And he went for that heathen Chinee.

In the scene that ensued
I did not take a hand,

But the floor it was strewed,

Like the leaves on the strand,

With the cards that Ah Sin had been hiding,
In the game “he did not understand.”

In his sleeves, which were long,

He had twenty-four Jacks —

Which was coming it strong,

Yet I state but the facts:

And we found on his nails, which were taper,
What is frequent in tapers — that’s wax.

Which is why I remark.

And my language is plain,

That for ways that are dark.

And for tricks that are vain,

The heathen Chinee is peculiar.

Which the same I am free to maintain.

HEAVEN : ^ . This term as used by the Chinese may mean
either (i) the sky as seen overhead which is personified
into the Deity, “old Bluecoat” ^ ^ ^ or the “old
gentleman of the sky” ± % etc., and

in large number of cases can only be rendered intelligibly
by “God.” (2) Abstract right When Confucius said,
“He who offends against Heaven has none to whom

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“he can pray,” the learned commentator Choo He (q.v.)
added “by Heaven is meant abstract right.”

( 3 ) Fate, Kismet; e.g., the phrase used in deeds of sale
of girls: “If she should die, both parties agree to accept
“such event as the will of Heaven.”

In illustration of No. i, the character ^ is often drawn
with men and women leaning against it eating from the
usual rice bowl, the whole forming a picture conundrum
and explained by “they rely on Heaven for

“their daily food.”

HEAVEN, TEMPLE OF: 5^ Ig— altar of Heaven. A
large enclosure within the Chinese or outer portion of
the city of Peking where the Emperor sacrifices and
performs various religious ceremonies in honour of Heaven,
the great unseen Power which directs the affairs of men,
from which the Emperor himself holds his commission to
rule over the whole world ( 5eT), and to which he is
personally responsible for the well-being of his people.

A list of all those executed during the year and of
their crimes, is burned by the Emperor on the Altar of
Heaven at the winter solstice; he is thus supposed to
inform heaven of the manner in which he has used its
delegated authority.

HEAVEN-SENT BARRIER. A name applied by the
Chinese to the Wu-sung (q.v.J Bar, as protecting Shanghai
from the promiscuous ingress of large ships of war. Com-
pare — “Many of us have thought that our sea-wall is a
“specially divine arrangement to make and keep us a nation
“of sea-kings after the manner of our forefathers, secure
“against invasion and able to invade other lands when we
“need them.” Impressions of Theophrastus Such.
HEEN HIEN. See Hsien.

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I2I

HEH-LUNG-KIANG : — black dragon river. One

of the Manchurian provinces, and a favourite destination
for banished Chinese officials.

The so-called “common people” or working
classes of Japan.

“The shizoku (q^v.) have ceased to carry swords, but
“they retain power over the heimin^ as they did in former
“times .” — Hiogo News.

HELL. See Chamder of Horrors.

HERBAL, THE CHINESE. See Pun-ts^ao.

HERMIT LAND, THE. A name formerly applied to
Korea (q.v.J.

HIBATSHI: ^ — fire bowl. A portable stove used in

Japan for warming rooms, etc.

HIEN FUNG or HSIEN FENG: ^©—general abund-
ance. The style of reign adopted by the Emperor who
ruled China from 1851 — 1862. Fled from Peking on its
capture by the allied forces, and died at Jehol (q.v.J.

HININ: # A — “Not humans.” A class of Japanese paupers,
formerly allowed to squat on waste lands.

HIOGO: ^ . A port in Japan. Same as Kobe jplp

HIOUEN THSANG. French orthography of Hsuan Tsang
(q.v.J.

HIRAGANA or HIRAKANA : ^ IS ^ . The Japanese
running hand or simplified form of the Kana The

common symbols used in writing the native language,
resembling the Chinese “grass” character. Said to have
been introduced into Japan by Kobodaishi who died
A.D. 835.

The Hiragana consists of 48 primary characters, but
numbers nearly 150, if varieties of form be included
With the addition of some 500 cursive characters, it forms

I 22

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

the syllabary employed by women, and in novels and all
publications for the illiterate. Chinese characters are added
where necessary to prevent confusion.

HISTORV, BOOK OF. See Shoo King.

HISTORY, FATHER OF. A name given to

Ssu-ma Chden, who flourished B.C. 145 — 87 and produced
the first systematic history of China, known as the ^lE
Historical Record, covering a period from the earliest
ages down to his own day. It contains 526,500 words.
Since then, histories of the various dynasties, twenty-four
in all, have been regularly published after the close of
each dynasty, and fill, in the uniform edition of 1747,
no less than 216 large volumes.

HIUNG-NU : See Hsiung~nu.

HIYAKSHO: ^ The Japanese “farmer” class.

HOANG-HO : ^ — yellow river. So called from the

yellowness of its water, caused by the vast quantity of
mud which is swept down by its rapid current to the sea.
Pronounced Hwong haw in the Mandarin dialect. Known
to the Mongols as Kara mouran or the Black River.

It is now nearly fifty years since the Yellow River
deserted the channel through which it formerly found its
way across Kiangsu into the Yellow Sea*, and, turning
northward at a point near Lan-yi, in the north-east of
Honan, found for itself a new outlet into the Gulf of
Peichili. Several times before the river has deviated in a
similar way, always with disastrous results. Its present
channel is so narrow that, even at normal height, the
water is level with either bank; but when it rises with
the slightest increase in volume, it spreads out like a sea
over some thirty miles of ground. See China s Sorrow.

HOEY : ^ * A commercial Guild. A secret society.

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE 123

HOI HOW : P — sea port. The port of Kiung-chou Fu

(q.v.) in Hainan.

HOKLOS: ins ^ — the old ones of Fu, i.e. Fuhkien. A
tribe said to have come originally from that province.
Now found chiefly in the Prefecture of Hui-chou
Williams writes but the last character should be

which is a Cantonese colloquial word meaning fnan.
is the attempt of the Cantonese to write the Fuhkienese
sound of the character jfiB •

HOKUSAI. A.D. 1760 — 1850. The famous Japanese artist,
known by many fancy names. He was the son of a
mirror-maker, and excelled in painting trees, flowers, fruit,
birds, beasts, fishes, and men and women. On his tomb
are the words Gwaikio Rojin Manji^ the Old Man mad
on Painting. At the back is written, “My soul turned
“will o’ the wisp can come and go at ease over the
“summer fields.”

HOLY CITY, THE. A title bestowed in 1585 upon the
city of Macao by the Portuguese settlers residing there.
Above the entrance to the Senate House may still be
seen — ^ Czdade do Nome de Deos — nao ha outra mais
leal^'' i.e., “City of the Name of God — there is not
another more loyal.”

HON AM. Name of an island close to Canton opposite to
which formerly stood the celebrated foreign “factories”
(q.v.).

HONAN: ^ — south of the (Yellow) river. One of the

Eighteen Provinces, capital city K'ai-feng Fu jjj-

Old name

HONG: a row, or series. Chinese warehouses were so

called because consisting of a succession of rooms, and
the old “factories” (q^v.) being similarly built, the Chinese

124 A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

called each block a hong. Now used of all kinds of
mercantile houses.

HONG-BOAT: — three oars. A Chinese sampan with

a small wooden house in the middle, capable of holding
about eight persons. Said to have been rowed originally
by only three men sitting in the bow, with a fourth
sculling at the stern — whence the Chinese name ; but
now the number varies according to the fancy of the
owner. Used by foreigners residing at Canton. Same as
Matrimonial.

HONGKEW HONGQUE : fet P . The site of the
American Settlement at Shanghai. From the local pro-
nunciation of the above two characters, literally, rainbow
mouth or port.^ the Chinese name of the place.

HONGKONG : ^ — fragant lagoon. There has been

much controversy as to the correct interpretation of the
above two characters. “Fragrant Streams” and “Incense
Harbour” are among those given. The use of the term
“lagoon” is based upon the fact that the inlet of water
which forms the harbour of Takow, Formosa, and is
unquestionably a lagoon, is written down in Chinese maps
of the place as a . Our word Hongkong is a corruption
of the local pronunciation of the Chinese name. See
Petticoat String.

Hongkong was ceded to the English in 1841 and by
Treaty of Nanking in 1842, but is still frequently spoken
of by the inaccurate as being in “China,” and sometimes
even as a Treaty Port. Was formally erected into a
British Colony 5th April 1843. H 26 miles in circumference,
and nine in length by eight in breadth. The “Peak,”
upon which stands the signal staff, is 1825 feet high.
There is now a funicular railway to the summit. Just as

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125

Gibraltar dominates the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea,
so does Hongkong dominate commercially the entrance
to the China Seas. Like Gibraltar it is close to the
mainland of an alien power, and has similar physical
kspects — a rocky height rising abruptly from the sea,
with the town at the foot of its slopes. Like Gibraltar
too it is almost entirely unproductive.

HONG MERCHANTS. The security merchants of former
days, who, for the privilege of trading with foreigners
coming to Canton, became security to the mandarins for
their payment of duties and their good behaviour while on
shore. Monopoly broken up by Treaty of Nanking 1842.

HONSAI. See Gonsai.

HOO-SZE: . Abbreviation for ^ jS® ‘‘silk expert’

or “silk toucher.” Compare chaa-sze. Known in Canton
as ^ BrR or ^ ^ » y^ ^ standing for raw silk from
Hu-chou Fu in Chehkiang,

HOPPO, THE. The Haikwan (q^v.) or Superintendent of
Customs at Canton, has been so called for many years.
The term is said (i) to be a corruption oi Hoo poo
— the Board of Revenue, with which office the Hoppo, as
collector of duties, is in direct communication-, (2) to be
from Ho poll originally “god of the rivers” but

subsequently applied to the Canton river-police magistrate.
A well-known native work, however, states that
the Superintendent of Customs is called in English
Hoppo,

HOTOW : ^ — head of the river. Name of a large

kind of boat used by foreigners at Canton for going up
country, picnics, etc. So called from the name of the place
at which they are built. Are usually distinguished by
three or four red doors, called on each side.

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HOUSE-BOAT. The common name among foreigners in
China for small sailing boats housed over and fitted up
with sleeping bunks, cook’s galley, and other European
appliances. Are much used on the river Yang-tsze by the
“shootists” of Shanghai, Chinkiang, etc.

HOWQUA : ^ . The popular designation of the famous

co-hong merchant, named ^0 Ng E-wo (in Pekingese

Wu Tho), who was one of the intermediaries, under the
old system, between the Chinese officials and foreigners
at Canton, and whose house there is still one of the
show sights. He died in 1843. Howqua was an Amoy
man, and the word seems to be an attempt at representing
the Amoy sounds of the above two characters. Mr. Parker
writes in the Chhia Review^ XVII, p. 53, “ Is evidently the
word ^ ka as written by the Portuguese.” The Portuguese,
however, sound qtia not as ka but as kwah \ e.g, quadrado.

HSIEN : . A district under the immediate control of a

magistrate called a chih-hsien (q>v,)^ or simply a Hsien.

HSIEN PI ; . A tribe which originally occupied the

mountains and glens of south-east Mongolia, and gave
great trouble to the Chinese for some centuries after
the Christian era. They were the progenitors of the
Kitans (q.v.),

HSIN CHING LU : The Book of Experime^its^

or first handbook of the Court Dialect published by
Sir T. Wade. Was wittily travestied into ^ ^ “the
new road to Peking,” the sounds of the two sets of
characters being sufficiently near, for a foreign ear, to
admit of such a pun.

HSIU-TS‘AI : ^ ^ — cultivated talents. A graduate of the
lowest rank. Generally translated bachelor of arts.

This was the general term for scholar or man of letters

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127

until the time of the Emperor Kuang Wu (A.D. 25 — 58),
when it was changed to mao-ts^ai ^ ^ , on account of
the character ^ forming part of the Emperor’s name.
The old name was restored some two centuries later.

HSIUNG-NU : ^ ^ . A Tartar tribe from Eastern Mongolia,
probably the Scythians of Herodotus, known in early

ages as 111 5^ or ^ , under the Hsia dynasty as
3^ , under the Yin dynasty as ^ , under the Chou
dynasty as and under the Han dynasty as ^ ^R-

They first began to give trouble in the 3rd cent. B.C.,
disappearing from history in the 5th cent. A.D. See

Ouigours.

HSUAN CHUANG YUAN TSANG: or

The famous Buddhist priest who left China for India in
A.D. 629, returning after an absence of seventeen years
and bringing with him 657 volumes of the Buddhist

scriptures.

HU-KUANG: ^ . The old name of a province now

divided into Hu-pei and Hu-nan (q-V.)^ but still used
collectively of the two. Also called the Two Hu, •

HUE: The capital of Annam. Locally known

as ^ , whence the name Hue.

HUNAN: — south of the (Tung-thng '/|^ j^) lake.

One of the Eighteen Provinces. Capital city Ch^ang-sha
Fu Old name See CAou Han.

HUNDRED FAMILY NAMES: W ^ . Correctly

speaking, “the family names” of China, hundred being
merely a round number used to express “all.” The title
of a small work several centuries old which contains 408
ordinary Chinese surnames, and 30 double names or such
as we should unite in English by a hyphen. In K‘ang Hsi’s
lexicon, however, we find no less than 1,678 characters

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A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

mentioned as surnames, besides i68 double and 8 triple
names; while in the biographical section of the F^u shu
(see Encyclopaedias) there are 3,038 single names and
1,619 double, triple, and quadruple names, making a
grand total of 4,657 in all. Chinese of the same surname
(with some few exceptions) may not intermarry. The four
common names — our Brown, Jones, and Robinson — are
Chang 5 ^, Wang Li and Chao These names
are in many cases translatable, and yield such meanings
as Fields Fox^ Crab^ Springs Home^ Bellyful^ Farmer^
White^ Gold^ yoy^ Ball^ etc. Tradition says that there
were originally only eight clan-names, all of which are
written with the Radical (q>v.) woman; and this, taken
in connection with the fact that the Chinese word for
“surname” contains the same Radical, seems to show that
in early times the family line was traced through the
mother. It is also noticeable that in the majority of cases
surnames were derived from places, and not place-names
from persons as with us.

HUNG-LOU-MENG: A famous Chinese novel

in the Peking dialect, popularly known as the Dream of
the Red Chamber, dealing chiefly with events of domestic
life which are very graphically described, and attributed
to Ts^ao Hslieh-chfln of the 1 7th cent. Many Chinese
are said to have died for love of the heroine, Miss Lin,
so exquisitely has that young lady been portrayed by the
author; but the book being considered a dangerous one
to fall into the hands of youth was accordingly placed
in the Index Expurgatorius of China, though at present
its sale is carried on much the same as that of any other
work. It is generally issued in 24 vols, 8vo, containing
about 4,000 pages, and the number of personages

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE 129

introduced to the reader runs to over 400. There is
something distinctive in the delineation of each of these*,
in view however of the confusion likely to arise from
such a bewildering maze of names, a small dictionary
has been published in which each individual is more
or less described. The title should properly be “The
“Dream of the Red-storeyed Mansion,” the allusion being
to the wealthy establishment at which the scene of the
story is laid, and to the pomp and power of its inmates,
destined by the inevitable turn of Fortune’s wheel to
lapse into poverty and decay.

HUNG-M6 or HUNG-MAO; ^ the red-haired. A
term first applied by the Chinese to the Dutch, in the
17th century, and now to all white foreigners. Is slyly
used to a great extent, as also fan ^ barbarian, among
the Chinese of Hongkong. The writer has even received
a letter from his washerman addressed ^ % Zl jbC E
The red-haired Vice Consul^ though even this will hardly
bear comparison with a title he once obtained in Swatow,
where it is commonly used, namely 5 II ® W The fesus
Mandarin — an appellation which tells its own tale. In
Amoy and Swatow, the term “red-haired” is now reserved
for the English.

HUNS, THE. See Hsiung-nu.

HUPAO, THE: Vg fR— Shanghai News. Name of a
Chinese newspaper issued from the Daily News office.
First appeared i8th May, 1882.

HUPEH HU-PEI : north of the (Tung-Ping

J^) lake. One of the Eighteen Provinces. Capital
city Wu-ch‘ang Fu Old name ^’^sO.

HUTUKHTU : ^ ® . The cardinals, or second

order in the hierarchy of Lamaism The three chief

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Hutukhtus reside at Urga, Kuku Khoto, and Peking ;
the latter representing Lamaism at the Court. In Tibet
they wield temporal as well as spiritual power, the
administration being entirely in their hands. Popularly
known as “Living Buddhas.” The term H. is derived
from a Mongolian word which is interpreted in Chinese as
signifying tsai lai jen A — z.e. one who returns

again, an Avatar.

HWANG-POO or WANG-PU: — Yellow Reach. The

river whereon, at a distance of about 12 miles from the
Yang-tsze into which it flows, stand the town and foreign
settlements of Shanghai.

HWANG-TI: ^ ^ — the Yellow Emperor. A legendary

ruler, who is said to have flourished nearly 3,000 years
before Christ and to have been the pioneer of the early
civilisation of mankind by the invention of wheeled
carriages, a medium of exchange, music, astronomical
instruments, etc., etc. Was called “yellow” because he
reigned under the influence of earth (whatever that may
mean), and yellow is the colour of earth. Must not be
confounded with the next.

HWANG-TI: (^) — Supreme ruler. The title of every

Emperor of China since the days of the First Emperor
(q,v.)^ before which time the title 3E wang “prince” was
employed. When the Mongols conquered China in the
early years of the 13th century, and adopted the title
Hwang Ti, they analysed the character ^ into its com-
ponent parts ^ white and 3E prince^ and translated
them literally into Mongolian as Tchagan Khagan or
“White Khan.” This was subsequently adopted by the
Russians for Asiatic use in the various forms of Ak-khan,
Ak-Padshah, and Biely Tsar or “White Czar.”

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HWEI-HWEI or HUI-HUI: f^f |]^ . Generally used of all
classes of Mahommedans found in China. The character
is sometimes written with do^- by the side ^0 .

HYPNOTISM. See Mesmerism.

HYSON: ^ — flourishing spring. A kind of tea.

HYSON, YOUNG: ^ — before the rains. A kind of

tea so called because it was picked early. Formerly called
by foreigners uchain.

IBN BATUTA. An Arabian traveller who visited China
in the fourteenth century, and whose narrative corroborates
several of the statements of Marco Polo.

ICHANG: !iC |§ . A port in the province of Hupeh on
the upper Yang-tsze, opened to trade by the Chefoo
Convention of 1876.

ICHIBU: — one bu (q.v.).

ICHI-ROKU : — ■ — one six. All days of the month

which contain one or other or both of these numbers;
e.g.^ the 1st, 6th, i ith, i6th, etc. These days were
adopted as official holidays on the establishment of the
present Government in Japan, but recently Sundays have
been substituted.

“Our readers have doubtless been unaware that their
“ Majesties the Emperor and Empress, desirous of instructing
“themselves in European science, were accustomed to take
“lessons regularly every day, excepting those of ichiroku^'
— Echo du yapon.

The Japanese also use the expressions ni-hitchi ZH Au
2nd and 7th, sam patchi zn. /V 3rd and 8th, ski-ku
PE| ;/L 4th and 9th, and go-juh 3E. “f" 5 th and loth in
the same manner. The same kind of phraseology is also
common in China.

I. G., THE. Abbreviation for Inspector General of the

132 A GLOSSARY OR REFERENCE

foreign department of the Chinese Customs. During the
occupation of the native city of Shanghai by the T'ai-p 4 ng
rebels 1853 — 55, the collection of the Customs’ revenue
was temporarily placed in the hands of three foreign
officials deputed by the British, French, and American
Consuls • and this system was found to answer so well that
it was continued, even after the evacuation, under the
guidance of Mr Horatio Nelson Lay at the head of a
small staff of European assistants. The arrangement was
finally extended to all the Treaty Ports, and has developed
into what is now known as the Chinese Customs’ Service
— hitherto one of the most ably conducted organisations
in the world.

IKKU. A well-known Japanese poet and humorist. Died 1831.

IMMORTALS, THE: f|lj ^ . A term which is somewhat
loosely applied to the richi of Buddhism and to the saints
of Taoism (q>v.).

INCHHON. Same as yenchuan

INDIAN INK. A misnomer for the slabs of Chinese ink
used all over the empire since the third century of our
era ; though, according to one native authority, it was
manufactured as early as B.C. 140. It is prepared chiefly
in Anhui, from a lampblack produced by burning either
sesamum oil or the oil of the seeds of sterculia platani-
folia ^ Linn, f., with varnish and pork-fat. A paste is made
from this lampblack and some glue is added, also musk
or Baroos camphor to scent it, and some gold-leaf to
give it a metallic lustre. The paste is beaten on wooden
anvils with steel hammers, and then placed in wooden
moulds and ornamented with gold or coloured characters etc.
F'rom their habit of putting the writing brush or pencil
into the mouth in order to give a fine point, the

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

Chinese have come to employ the phrase “eating ink”
as a metaphorical equivalent for study.

INFANTICIDE. The prevalence of this crime in China
has been greatly exaggerated, while the harrowing stories
connected with Baby Towers (q.v.) have been shown to
be ridiculously untrue. It is now quite an open question
whether infanticide is more practised in China than in
Europe and elsewhere. Foreigners often fail to understand
how it is that, if infanticide does not exist, stone tablets
engraved with warnings against this crime can still be
set up near ponds, and endless pamphlets be produced
illustrating the crime and the dire effects upon those
who perpetrate ^it. The explanation however is simple.
Any Chinaman who makes money is compelled by public
opinion to do something in the philanthropic line. He
may build a needed bridge, or mend a road, or publish
a pamphlet setting forth the terrors of Purgatory (see
Leprosy). Infanticide (girls only), which of course does occur,
as in every other country, is one convenient outlet for such
philanthropy. Happily for the honour of the Chinese
people, who are very fond of children, it is possible
actually to prove a negative, and show that extensive
infanticide cannot be practised in China, as follows. Every
Chinaman throughout the empire, with the very rarest
exceptions, marries young. If his wife dies, he marries
again •, it is not thought proper for widows to remarry,
though some do so. Many well-to-do Chinamen take a
concubine* some two, three, and even four. Therefore,
unless there is an enormous disparity in the numbers of
boys and girls born, infanticide must be reduced to very
narrow limits. Yet, as late as May 1897, Isabella

Bishop said at a meeting of the Zenana Missionary

134 A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

Society that “of eleven Bible women whom she had seen
“at a meeting in China, there was not one that had not
“put an end to at least five girl babies.” It is a work
of supererogation to add that few Chinawomen bear five
children.

INITIALS. See Spelling System.

INLAND SEA, THE. The sea which is almost surrounded
by the three southernmost islands — Nipon, Sikok, and
Kiusiu — of the Japanese empire. It is about 250 miles in
length, and contains some fine pieces of scenery.

INNER LAND, THE. See Nui ti.

INQUESTS. Are held in China upon the bodies of all
who die by violence or are found dead under suspicious
circumstances. Also, in cases of grievous bodily injury,
when a limit is fixed within which the accused is responsible,
and during which the injured man is handed over to his
charge. The inquest is held by the District Magistrate
or his Deputy, without a jury, within view of the body,
on the very spot where found or struck down.

INTERCALARY MONTH: . (Accented on the

second syllable). A thirteenth month inserted seven times
in nineteen years, or about once in every third year, in
order to make up the annual deficiency of the lunar year
of twelve months as compared with the solar year. The
four following methods, the last of which is still in use,
have been adopted at various times for determining the
incidence of this month.

(i) — The reduplication of every 33rd month. Thus in
the 3rd year there would be an intercalary 9th month,
in the 6th year an int. 6th, in the 9th an int. 3rd, in
the iith an int. iith, in the 14th an int. 8th, in the
17th an int. 4th, and in the 19th an int. 12th.

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE 135

(2) — Addition of a month at the end of the proper year.

(3) — Reduplication of the month, the numerical order
of which was the same as the number of days from the
winter solstice to the end of the current month, no matter
whether a month of 29 or of 30 days, and no notice being
taken of any remainder exceeding 12. Thus if the winter
solstice fell on the 24th of the iith month of 30 days,
the following 6th month would be reduplicated.

(4) — Selection of a month under which the following
conditions would be fulfilled : — That the winter solstice
shall always fall in the i ith month, the summer solstice
in the 5th month, the vernal equinox in the 2nd month,
and the autumnal equinox in the 8th month. Also, that
the month intercalated shall be one during which the sun
does not pass from one sign of the zodiac to another;
and provided always that the ist, iith, and 12th moons
be never reduplicated. [By a mistake the intercalary month
for the year 1813 was calculated for the 8th moon, but
as this brought the winter solstice into the loth month,
the Emperor cancelled the calculation and made the 2nd
moon of the following year the intercalary month instead,
which fulfilled all the conditions required.]

INVITATIONS (CHINESE). If declined, should be sent
back in the original envelope, with an ordinary visiting
card bearing the two characters ^ Hj" tz^'u hsieh^ “declined
with thanks.” If accepted, should be kept and taken with
the guest for presentation to the host. In neither case
is any formal answer expected.

IQUON : ^ . A name under which Cheng Chih-lung,

the father of Koxinga, was known to the Portuguese.

I-RO-HA KANA. A form of Japanese writing said to
have been invented by Kukai, a Buddhist priest who died

136

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

A.D. 835. It was an attempt to assimilate the letters as
much as possible to the Bonji (ix, Pali) used in the
sacred books of the Buddhists.

ISHI-DORO: 5 > 1 ® ^ . A stone lamp. [Japanese].

JADE: 35 Yu (said to mean the gem par excellence^. A
species of nephrite, the green and white kind of which
( 3^ /el ts^uz, kingfisher plumes) is highly valued by
the Chinese. Rings, bracelets, vases, and various other
ornaments are made of this stone, which is also largely
imitated. The Chinese word is extensively employed in
ceremonious language • 35 “iM “jade (z.e. honour-

able) person” and ^ 35 Sit “do not spare your jade
footsteps,” z.e. “come and see me,” etc., etc., jade being
considered as emblematical of most of the virtues, and
as a product of Heaven and Earth. Whole ship-loads of
it have been brought as ballast from other countries to
China, but have found no market, the Chinese declaring
that it was not the same article as their own, which
comes from the mountain-ranges of Tibet.

JAMBARREE. A festive party, involving much noise.
[Slang.] Analysed by a wag at Swatow : —

Alcohol 75 parts.

Vox humana 24 „

Water i „

JAPAN; 0 — Sun Root. Hence it is called “Land of

the Rising Sun,” the extreme Orient. Our word is from
yeh-pun^ the Dutch orthography of the Japanese Ni-pon.,
as represented by the above two Chinese characters.

Formerly known to the Chinese as ^ Wo^ the Country
of Dwarfs, which character was altered by the Japanese
to ^0. Also called the nation of gods, and ^

the Imperial nation. [See Nipon and Yamato\

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE 137

The Chinese written language and Confucian books
were introduced into Japan in A.D. 286, on the advice
of Atogi, son of the King of Korea, who visited that
country. Until they became acquainted with Chinese, the
Japanese had no written character. When the Japanese
began to write their own language phonetically, they used
Chinese characters (see Kana). Later on they limited
the number of characters for use as phonetic signs, and
then wrote these in an abbreviated form (see Katakand)
or in a cursive form (see Hiragana). The Japanese
alphabet, consisting of 47 syllable-letters, was invented by
Kudu-no-Madu, A.D. 693 — 755; and the first Japanese
written book dates from 712 (see Kojikt). The Japanese,
like the Chinese, write from right to left in vertical
columns. Diplomatic relations between China and Japan
began about the end of the 6th century, and continued
for some time under the T‘ang dynasty, during which
period Japanese students were sent to China to study the
Chinese language and literature. Kublai Khan sent an
armada against Japan in A.D. 1281. It was destroyed in
a storm, aided by the attacks of the Japanese, and only
3 men out of 100,000 are said to have escaped.

[EHOL : ^ — hot river. A summer residence of the

Emperors of China, lying about 100 miles north of
Peking, beyond the Great Wall, and built in 1780 on
the model of the residence of the Panshen Erdeni (q.v.)
at Tashilumbo in Tibet, when that functionary proceeded
to Peking to be present on the seventieth anniversary of
the Emperor Ch‘ien Lung’s birthday. It was here that the
Emperor Hsien Feng died in 1861, subsequent to the
capture of Peking by the British and French forces. Our
name is an imitation of the Chinese sounds, through the

138 A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

French, the final being due to the French transliteration
of the Peking ^ eul^ which is usually added in the north
to the two characters given above.

JENCHUAN : fH jll . A Prefecture in Korea, in which is
situated the port of Chemulpo (q.v.).

JESUITS, THE. This term, as used in China, refers to
the highly-educated Romish missionaries of that particular
society, who resided at Peking during the seventeenth
and part of the eighteenth centuries, and employed
themselves chiefly in the translation of scientific works,
in teaching astronomy, etc., etc. Matteo Ricci and Adam
Schaal are among the most famous. They have found
not unworthy successors in the Jesuits of today, among
whom may be mentioned PP. Zottoli, Couvreur, Havret,
and others. See Sicawei.

JEWS: ^ ^ THao-chin-chiao — sect of those who take

out the sinew. Are said to have carried the Pentateuch
to China shortly after the Babylonish captivity. They
founded a colony in Honan in A.D. 72, and erected a
synagogue at K‘ai-feng Fu in A.D. 1 164. Were discovered
by Ricci (see Jesuits) in the 1 7th century. Hebrew rolls
of parts of the Pentateuch in the square character, with
vowel points, were obtained in 1850. The Jews are
mentioned in the Hist, of the Yuan (Mongol) Dynasty^
1329 and 1354 A.D., as/fti^^, the equivalent of the
Chaldaean J^hud.

JIGGY JIGGY JIKI JIKI: [t iS Japanese equivalent
for “make haste!”

JIMMU TENNO. The first Mikado of Japan, B.C. 660,
with whose reign the historical period begins.

JINGAL. The Chinese blunderbuss. From the Hindustani
jangal., a swivel, a large musket. Generally fired in China

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE 139

from a swivel fixed on a wall or in a wooden post, but
sometimes with the barrel resting- on a second man’s
shoulder, in which case it is called a t'ai cNiang,

“There is very little recoil with these weapons, as
“they weigh about twenty pounds, and the charge is not
“rammed home, but just dropped down the muzzle.” —
Shanghai Courier.

JINRICKSHA JINRIKISHA ; A the man’s

strength cart. A small gig, invented about 1872 and
constructed to carry one or more persons, drawn by a
coolie in shafts and sometimes pushed by another from
behind. From the Japanese pronunciation of the above
three characters. Now largely used in Shanghai, Hong-
kong, Amoy, and some Indian hill stations. The Japanese
name is Ktiruina “a vehicle,” and the coolie is called
Ktirtimaya.

JOHN TUCK. A slang name for the Viceroy at Canton,
being the corruption of Tsu 7 ig-tuk ^ ^ , Governor
General, as pronounced by the sailors of H. B. M.’s fleet
during the occupation of Canton.

JON-NUKE. The famous, but immodest, “forfeit dance,”
performed by Japanese courtesans, who pay forfeit for any
failure to imitate each other’s gestures when challenged by
a loud “Hoi!” by throwing off one article of clothing
each time, until nothing remains, when they disappear
behind a curtain at the back. Part of the performance
consists of singing a song, beginning with the words
“Jon-kino, jon-kino.” See Yoshiwara.

JOO-EE or JU-I: ^ — as you desire. A kind of sceptre

often given as a present among the Chinese, and signifying
that the recipient will attain his wishes. To be seen in
the hands of idols at Chinese temples. The term is

140 A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

sometimes used by Chinese shop-keepers as a shop-sign;
e.g. in jS ^ “as you wish stockings (sold here).”

The Buddhist Mani $ a gem which was said to
remain always brilliant, was called the Ju>i Pearl. It is
enumerated as one of the Seven Precious Things.

JO-RO: A prostitute [Japanese]. So Joroya a house

of ill fame.

JOSS. A Chinese idol-, also applied to the Christian God.
The word is a corruption of the Portuguese Deos^ God,
and has come to be used in pidgin-English in the
sense of luck, as good joss or bad joss, according to
circumstances.

JOSS-HOUSE. A Chinese temple-, e.g.^ the “Treaty Joss-
house” where the Treaty of Tientsin was signed. Also
used by the natives to designate all foreign churches
and chapels.

JOSS-HOUSE MEN. Missionaries are so called by pidgin-
English speaking Chinese.

JOSS-PAPER. Pieces of gold and silver paper worked
into the form of shoes of sycee (q.v.) and burnt by the
Chinese at masses for the dead, before the shrine of the
God of Wealth (Mt etc., etc.

JOSS-PIDGIN. Any form of religious ceremony, foreign
or native, including cracker-firing, processions, etc., etc.

JOSS-STICK. A stick of incense made from the dust of
various scented woods mixed with a little clay, and used
in temples for worship, in houses for lighting pipes, etc.
Some for the latter purpose are prepared so as to hang
over a wire frame in a spiral form; and being lighted at
the bottom, burn slowly upwards and last for many hours.
Carefully regulated joss-sticks for marking the time are
sold at the famous “Water Clock” in the city of Canton.

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE 14 1

JUDGE, PROVINCIAL - ^ high official,

ranking with the Treasurer or Fan-t‘ai (q^v.)^ who is
responsible for the due administration of justice in the
province to which he has been appointed.

JUDICIAL PROCEDURE. In the case, for instance, of
a murder, a preliminary investigation is held before the
District Magistrate, and if there is sufficient evidence
against the accused, he is committed for trial before
the Prefect. If the Prefect confirms the view . of the
Magistrate, the case is sent on to the Provincial Judge;
and, similarly, by him to the Fu-t‘ai or Governor. The
Governor then holds a trial and reports to the Board of
Punishments in Peking, and the Board lays the case
before the Emperor. The Emperor commands the Board
to examine and report; and if the Governor’s view is
confirmed, the latter receives instructions to that effect.
Otherwise, the case is referred back for reconsideration,
the Governor usually getting a strong hint as to the
direction his reconsideration is expected to take. He
himself refers back to his subordinates, and so on.

JUDY. Slang term for a Chinese courtesan. See Punch
and yudy,

JULAI. See Tathagata.

JUNK. According to Ibn Batuta, only the larger kind of
Chinese sailing-vessels should be so called; but the term is
now used of all sea-going boats and of the more bulky of
the river craft. It is a notable fact that single junks are
rarely seen at sea ; they generally sail in pairs, even down
to the small fishing-junks which ply their trade along the
coast, the object being no doubt that of mutually rendering
assistance. Probably from the Malay ajong or jong^ which
means a large boat, corrupted by the Portuguese into ]unco.

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KABAYA. The long upper dress worn by Malay women
and largely adopted as a deshabille by the Dutch ladies
in Java.

KAGO:^ ^ — riding basket. A bamboo palanquin formerly
used in Japan, but now superseded by the

KAKEMONO. A Japanese hanging picture.

KAKI. The Japanese name for persimino^i (q-v.),

KAKKE: — foot humour. The Japanese name for

Beriberi (said to be a Cingalese word meaning ‘‘weak-
ness”). A locally endemic contagious disease, probably
of a malarial character, showing itself in two forms, the
dropsical, and the atrophic (the so-called wet and dry
forms). It is now believed to consist essentially in a
multiple degenerative inflammation of the nerves.

KALMUCK TARTARS. See Tartars and Eletith Mongols.

KALPA : [Sanskrit], An immense period of time.

A “great” Kalpa= 1,344,000,000 years, or 80 small kalpas.

KAMAKURA. Residence of the Shoguns (q.v.) of Japan
from the close of the 12th cent. A.D. to 1867.

KAMI: lli^. A god or spirit of the ancient religion Ay)
of Japan.

KAMPONG. See Campong.

KAN ON: A pronunciation of Chinese according

to the dialect of Singan Fu, capital of Shensi, introduced
into Japan through Korea about A.D. 600, and especially
used by Confucianists. See Go on.

KAN A: IS ^ — borrowed words. Contraction for Karina.
Chinese characters used phonetically to represent Japanese
sounds. These are of two kinds; Katakana and Hiragana
(q.v.).

KANG or K‘ANG: A brick bed, with a fire under-

neath it. Used all over the more northern parts of China.

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143

KANG HI or K‘ANG HSI:^ Eft — lasting and prosperous.
The style of reign adopted by the second monarch of
the present dynasty, A.D. 1662 — 1723. It was under
the auspices of this Emperor that the great Chinese
lexicon was compiled which is known as the K^ang Hsi
Tzu Tien (see Dictionaries). Twenty specimens of the
cash (q^v.) cast by this Emperor have each a different
character on the reverse, which, read in the proper order,
form a poetical quatrain. Complete sets of these are now
rather rare. See Lohan.

KANG A KUSH A. A term applied to the Japanese scholars
of the 1 8th century, who were crazy on Chinese literature
and Chinese ideals generally. See Wagakusha.

KANGURA FUYE. The Japanese flute. Koma fuye is
the Korean flute.

K ANSUH : — voluntary reverence. One of the Eighteen

Provinces. Capital city Lan-chou Fu Old name

KAO-LIANG: ^ — tall millet. The Sorghum vulgare

or Barbados millet.

KAOLIN : The Chinese name for what is known to

foreigners as China Clay (q^'v.). So called from the name
of a ridge of hills near a great porcelain factory in Kiangsi.

KAPAN: Chinese name for a European sailing-

vessel, taken from the old-fashioned clinker or ribbed
build as distinguished from the build of junks.

KAPPORE. A Japanese dance performed by geisha.

KATAKANA: j=r ^ — side-borrowed words. (See J^ana).

A form of Japanese writing derived from the Chinese,
only a part of each character being taken. It consists of
48 symbols, and is seen only in conjunction with Chinese
characters [kaisho). Invented by Kibidaishi, who died A.D.

144 ^ GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

776. Little used except in dictionaries for explanatory
purposes, to express grammatical terminations, and to
spell foreign names.

KAUTCHEWS. The people from ^ Kau-tchezv (in
mandarin Kao-chou) to the south-west of the Kuang-tung
province. They emigrate in large numbers to the Straits’
Settlements.

KAY-TOW : ^ — head of the strangers. An employer

of Chinese labour in the Straits.

KEIBU: A Japanese sergeant of police.

KELUNG: ll^ Wi or ® or ^ Subsidiary port to

Tamsui at the north end of Formosa, opened to trade
by the Treaty of Tientsin, 1858. Was once a Spanish
and subsequently a Dutch settlement. Coal is found in
the neighbourhood. The name Kelung was once applied
to the whole island of Formosa.

KEN: Japanese term for a “district.” Equivalent to

the Chinese hsien (q-v.).

KEN: A measure of six Japanese feet (=71^/0 inches).

KENCHO: . A Japanese magistrate’s office.

KENREI : ^ . A Japanese District Magistrate.

KHALKAS, THE: The Khalka nation comprises

those tribes of Mongols which, owing probably to their
remoteness, maintained to a late date their independence
of the Manchu sovereignty.

KHAMBALU. From Khampalik or Khan baligh^ the city
of the Khan. The Mongol name for what is now the
Tartar portion of the city of Peking. Mentioned by Marco
Polo as Cambaluc.

KHAN: ^ or more often ^ and y^. A Mongolian

term for “prince.” The Pathan Mahommedans in India
are called “Khan.”

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145

KHATA or KHADAK. Ceremonial scarves interchanged
between a Mongol host and guest.

KHATEEB. The Mussulman preacher in a Malay village.
See Billal.

KHUTUKHTU. See Hutukhtu.

KIANGNAN. The old name of Anhui and Kiangsu See
TSwo Kiang.

KIANGSI; ® — west of the river. One of the Eighteen

Provinces. Capital city Nan-ch‘ang Fu^ 1^ . Old name

^ Yu-chang,

KIANGSU: One of the Eighteen Provinces. From

the first syllables of Kiang-ning F'u yX ^ the capital,
and Su-chou Fu the celebrated city of beautiful

women. Old name % Wu,

KIAO-CHOU : ^ ^ . A port on the southern shore of the
Shantung Promontory, ceded to Germany in 1898. It
was reached by traders from the Erythraean Sea, B.C.
680 — 642; and the Buddhist monk Fa Hsien landed there
at the end of his voyage from Ceylon in A.D. 414.

KIAO-TCHI or GIAO-TCHI : ^ . A name formerly

believed to have been given by the Chinese to the
inhabitants of Cochin-China (q^v,) because in that country
the sexes bathed together. Now ascertained to be a native
name for the aborigines of Annam, derived from the
separation of their big toes from the rest of the foot,
like thumbs.

KIEN LUNG. See ChHen Lung,

KI-LTSSU-TANG : ® ^Ij ^ ^ . The Roman Catholic
pass-word among converts in China, being an imitation
of the Latin Christianus, Thus, “Lao-tang” (the last
syllable with “old” prefixed) is used as a form of address
among native converts, as opposed to “Lao Pai” or “Old

146 A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

Gentile,” the Pai representing the first syllable of Pontius
Pilate’s name.

KILIN or CH‘I-LIN (in Japanese Kirin)-, One of

the four fabulous creatures of China, generally translated
‘‘unicorn.” It is mentioned in the Odes, and is also said
to have appeared just previous to the death of Confucius.
The Spring and Autumn Annals (q-v^) end with the
record of this fact. An attempt has been made by some
foreign scholars to identify the Kilin with the giraffe.

KIMONO. A long robe with sleeves, open in front and
folding, worn by Japanese of both sexes, with a girdle.

KIN: /r . A catty (q^v.),

KING, THE. See Ching.

KINGHITAO. See Seoul,

KINSATSZ: Japanese bank-notes first issued in

1868, when the Daimios who overthrew the Tycoon found
it necessary to raise a loan.

KINSAY or QUINSAY: ^ — capital. The modern city

of Hang-chou Fu, the capital of the empire at the time
of the Sung dynasty. Kinsay is a corruption of the sounds
of the above two characters.

KIOJEN. A Japanese farce, in colloquial.

KIOKA. A comic variety of the Japanese Tanka (q.v.).

KIOTO or KIYOTO: ^ The capital of the Mikados
of Japan from A.D. 794 to 1868, Also known as Heian-jo
or the City of Peace. See Kamakura.

KIRGHIS or KASAKS. Nomads who inhabit the great
desert lying between Siberia, China, Turkestan, and the
Caspian Sea. Kir means field, and gis or gez is the root
of the word gizmelt to wander. Hence, Kirghis is a man
that wanders over fields : a nomad.

KIRIN: — ^joyful forest. One of the Manchurian provinces.

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147

KITAN TARTARS: ^ A tribe of Tartars who, under
the leadership of a chieftain named Apaoki,

united with themselves the Golden Tartars and

then threw off their allegiance to the House of Liang,
founding in A.D. 907 what is known as the ^ Liao
dynasty.

KITES, PAPER: ^ or^^. Are said to have been

known as early as the 2nd cent. B.C., and to have been
often used for political or military signalling. Kite-flying
is thought to be good for boys, as it makes them throw
their heads back and open their mouths, thus getting rid
of internal heat. The Chinese are very expert at it, and
make kites to^ resemble the kite, as expressed by the
first term above, and also in all manner of quaint shapes.
To some kites a kind of ^olian harp is attached; hence
the second term above. Messengers, consisting of bamboo
frames with fire-crackers attached, are sent up the string,
the crackers being timed to explode on reaching the top.

KITTYSOL. The Chinese bamboo-made umbrella is so
called. PTom the Spanish or Portuguese quitasol. “Eran
seis, y venian con sus quitasoles.” Don Quixote^ ch. IV.

KIUKIANG: % 1) nine rivers; (2) crooked river,

from the shape of the character . One of the ports on
the Yang-tsze. opened to trade by the Treaty of Tientsin,
1858, though not occupied until 1861. It lies near the
outlet of the Poyang ^ lake, with which certain
Chinese commentators have wrongly identified the “nine
rivers” mentioned in the Book of History ( ^ ^ — ^Tribute
of Yii). These were believed by the scholars of the Sung
dynasty to refer to the Tung-tfing lake, a view fully
confirmed by Baron von Richthofen in his recent work
on China. Etymology No. 2 is of course absurd.

148 A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

K'lUNG-CHOW : ^ — red marble region. A port in

the 1 . of Hainan, opened to trade by the Treaty of
Tientsin, 1858, but not formally occupied until 1876. It
was proposed in Sir R. Alcock’s unratified Convention
of 1869 to substitute Wenchow (q.v.) as more likely to
be a profitable centre of trade.

KLINGS, THE. The common term in the Straits’ Settlements
for all Indians, (See Chetties). The German traveller,
Jagar, suggested Telinga, a part of the Coromandel
coast, as the original word of which Kling may be a
corruption.

KNIFE MONEY: Some of the earliest Chinese

coins, dating as far back as 2,000 and more years before
Christ, were cast in the shape of a razor blade; hence
the name. Genuine specimens of “knife money” are
exceedingly rare and much prized by Chinese numismatists ;
but the market is flooded with spurious imitations of
all kinds.

KNOTTED CORDS: Said to have been used by

primitive man in China before the invention of writing;
but how or to what extent, there is no record to show.

KOBANG: ^hflj — small division. A Japanese gold coin
equal to 4 ius fq.v,J.

KOCHO : ^ . The superintendent of a street or block

in a Japanese town. Cf. Chinese ti-pao.

KODSKI : . A servant. [Japanese.]

KOI AN. See Coyan.

KojiKi: or Records of Ancient Matters. The

earliest surviving book written in Japanese, containing
the first traditions of the Japanese race, from the myths
which form the basis of the Shinto religion down to
A.D. 628. Completed in 712, by Yasumaro who declared

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149

that he took it down from the words of one Hiyeda
no Are.

KOKINSHIU : A famous Japanese anthology,

issued in the loth cent. A.D. and covering the previous
150 years. Arranged under categories.

KOKUSHI: S The title of the eighteen principal
Daimtos (q^v.) of Japan.

KO-LAO SOCIETY: ^ ^ — elder brother society. One

of the numerous secret fraternities of China, membership
of which is strictly forbidden by the Government, and
is punished on discovery by death. Penal Code^ Bk. II.,
Sect. 162.

“The arrest and execution of an individual found guilty
“of connection with the secret Brotherhood known as the
Lao HweiP — Peking Gazette^ 8 Sept. 1877.

KONG: A large glazed earthen jar for holding water.

KONGSI or KONGSEE: — company or guild. An

association of Chinese formed for purposes of mutual
protection, etc.

KOOSBEGE: “lord of the family.” A title bestowed in
1847 upon Yakoob Beg, and equivalent to “Vizier.”

KOREA. An imitation of the sounds Kao li the

common Chinese name for this country, pronounced Kori
by the Koreans, was formerly written ^ a quiver\.

It is incorrect to speak of the Korea, which is merely a
word-for-word rendering of the Erench La Koree^ just in
the same way as it is strictly speaking wrong to say the
Tyrol.

Otherwise known as mm Chaosien, a name adopted
in A.D. 1392, from the name of a district in the north-
west of the peninsula, signifying the country nearest to the
rising sun. The Koreans themselves employ both names,

ISO A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

the official designation being Chaosien. The Japanese
pronunciation of this name is Chosen.

The kingdom of Korea, for many centuries a vassalage
of the Chinese empire, is said (but without foundation)
to have been established about iioo B.C. It is known
in the historical annals as ^ Ha 7 i^ the name of the
Three States which formerly divided the Korean peninsula,
until one of them, Ko-rye, absorbed the other two,
about the close of the iith cent. A.D. Hence the
name Korea. In A.D. 1392, the capital was fixed at
%% ^ Han-yang or Seoul (q.v,)^ and the country was
divided into 8 provinces, 80 districts, and 360 cities.
Korea was conquered by the Chinese under the T'ang
dynasty, and remained more or less in subjection until
quite recently, when its autonomy was restored. The
population is estimated at 7 to 8 millions ; including
islands, 1 5 millions.

Korea was visited by Henrik Hamel, a Dutchman, in
1653, and since then by voyagers of various nationalities.
In 1866, a French expedition to avenge the murder of some
priests was repulsed. In 1868, an American expedition,
said to be of a filibustering character in connection with
treasure hidden in some mausoleum, returned without
having accomplished anything. In 1835, two Catholic
missionaries entered the country, and many afterwards
maintained an incognito there by the adoption of mourning,
which completely covers the face, and in the case of a
noble, exempts the mourner from all stoppages and
questionings at Customs’ barriers, etc.

Chinese is the official language of Korea, but procla-
mations appear in Chinese and Korean, side by side. The
native language is alphabetic, having ii vowels and 14

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151

consonants, and is thought to have been based on the
Sanskrit. It is written vertically, from left to right, and
is said to have been invented about the 8th or 9th
century of our era by a learned Buddhist priest named
Hsieh Tsung.

KOREYA. The cry of a Japanese policeman = Move on!

KORU : or A Japanese grain measure — 5.13

bushels.

K^OT^OU or KOW-TOW KOTOO : ^ Ig and PP |g
— knock the head. The ceremony of prostration common
in China. Chiefly performed (i) before the Emperor
(three kneelings, nine knockings “ ^ PP), (2) before
any mandarin as H. I. M.’s representative, (3) in religious
ceremonies, (4) to friends and relatives seen for the first
time after the death of one’s father or mother, (5) by
inferiors to superiors as a humble apology, and in some
other cases. The term is also conventionally used in a
ceremonious sense == thank you. Our word is an imitation
of the Chinese sounds.

KOU-LAN HU-T‘UNG: ^ flUl— enclosure street,

or houses-of-ill-fame street. The name of a street in
Peking, part of which was formerly occupied by the
Inspector-General of Maritime Customs and his staff. For
the meaning of this term, as commonly understood by
all educated Chinese, see the ^ rP* ^ .

“The correct form is and I think there can be

“little if any doubt that the name is a vestige of the
“Yoshiwara of the Mongol period.” Mayers,

With this term may be compared the signification of
Shameen (q.v,)^ it being worthy of note that both localities
have been set apart for the use of foreigners.
KOUMISS: An ardent spirit distilled

152 A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

chiefly from mare’s milk, and largely consumed by the
Mongols. Said to be beneficial in some forms of phthisis.

KOWLOON : ^ . A peninsula on the mainland of China,

opposite to the island of Hongkong. A portion of it was
leased to England in i860, and a further slice was added
in 1899.

KOXINGA KOSHINGA: 0 ^> 4 * — lord of the

country’s families. The celebrated chieftain ^15 ^ ^ , who
expelled the Dutch from Formosa in 1662. Koxuiga is
derived from the Portuguese method of writing the first
three characters given, a title by which this leader was
commonly known. Known to the Japanese as Kokusenya.
His battles formed the subject of a play published in
1715 by the famous Japanese playwright Chikamatsu (q.v.)^

KRIS or KARIS. Pronounced krees or creese. A dagger
of irregular shape, worn by the Malays in a sheath at
the girdle. That a mere scratch may be effective, it is
occasionally kept poisoned- and streaks of blood upon
it are carefully preserved as honourable marks. Its blade
is wavy or flame-shaped, from i to Oj.j inches wide and
from 14 to 18 inches in length, capable of inflicting a
dreadful wound. The finer specimens are often beautifully
damascened. Etiquette demands that during a friendly
interview the kris should be concealed and the handle
turned with the point close to the body; otherwise it is
exposed, with the handle turned the reverse way. The
Kris panjang and the Kris pandak are the long and
short kinds, respectively.

KU-LANG SU : U lljll — drum-wave island. A small
island to the west of the harbour of Amoy, nearly 3 miles
in circumference, and about i mile in length by mile in
breadth, upon which stand the Consulates and private

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE 153

residences of merchants and others connected with the
trade of the port. The name “drum-wave” has been
given to this island from a certain drum-like noise made
by the plashing of the waves at a particular point upon its
western shore. Upon a rock near the German Consulate,
the following legend is carved in large characters: —
Ku-lang-su is a Paradise upon earth ;

The Egret River is second to none.

Chinese population, about 3,000.

KUANG HSij or KWANG SU: 3 t brilliant succession.
The style of reign adopted by the present Emperor of
China, who came to the throne in 1875, aged four. His
name is Tsai T^ien and he is the son of the late

Prince ^ Ch‘un, familiarly known as the “seventh Prince,”
seventh son of the Emperor Tao Kuang. The style
Kuang Hsu is from a sentence in a State paper of the
Sung dynasty: “brilliantly renew the dynastic

succession.”

KUANGSI; 0 The western division of the ancient
^ . One of the Eighteen Provinces. Capital city

Kuei-lin Fu or Cassia-forest ; so called from

the cassia which grows in the neighbourhood. Old name
^ Yueh-hsi.

KUANG-TUNG: ^ The eastern division of the ancient
One of the Eighteen Provinces. Capital city
Kuang-chou Fu M ^ /fj (Canton). Old name ^ ^
Yueh-tung.

KUBLAI KHAN fF- The founder of the Mongol

dynasty in China, A.D. 1280. Grandson of Genghis Khan.

KU-CHO : [& :^ . The superintendent of one of the “quarters”
or parishes (I^) into which all Japanese towns and cities
are divided.

154 A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

KUGE: noble family. The name of the ancient

nobility of Japan, residing at Kiyoto and attached to the
Court of the Mikado, as opposed to the territorial nobles
or Daimios The Kuge are hereditarily noble, by

virtue of their blood-relationship (however distant) to the
Mikado.

KU JEN. See Chu-jen,

KUMPANI. See East India Company,

KUMQUOT. See C^mlquat.

KUNG: M- Tribute.

KUNSAN. A port on the left bank of the Changpo river
in Korea, about lo hours by steamer south of Chemulpo.

KUO TZU CHIEN: The Imperial Academy of

Learning. “Rather an assemblage of titled literary dignitaries
“than a body of officials with active functions.” Mayers.

KURA. A Japanese “godown” (qro.).

KURUMA. See Jinricksha,

KUWAZOKU: — noble class. I'he modern name of

the Daimios fq.v.J.

KWANTI:^^. The Chinese Mars or God of War.
A celebrated warrior, named Kuan Yli mm. who lived
at the close of the second and beginning of the third
century of our era. Originally a hawker of bean-curd,
he was one of the three heroes who entered into a
confederacy to support the Han dynasty against the
rebellious Yellow Turbans. He played a leading part in
the wars of the Three Kingdoms (see San^kuo-chiJi) until
he was finally taken prisoner and beheaded, after which
he was canonised, and subsequently (A.D. 1594) raised to
the rank of a God. A particular cash, struck during the
reign of the Emperor Chden Lung, is called “Kwan Ti’s
knife” from its supposed resemblance to that weapon.

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155

KWAN-YIN: — she who observes or pays attention

to sounds; i,e.^ she who hears prayers. The Chinese
Goddess of Mercy. Sometimes represented in white clothes
with a child in her arms, and worshipped by those who
desire offspring. Corresponds to the Avalokites 'va7^a of
Buddhism, and in some respects to the Lticina of the
Romans. Also known as “great mercy, great

pity;’ “salvation from misery, salvation from

woe ’ s ^ “self-existent “thousand arms
and thousand eyes,” etc. But down to the early part of
the 1 2th century Kwan-yin was represented as a man.

KW ANG-CHOU-WAN. A bay on the Lien-chou peninsula,
ceded by China^ to France as a naval station.

KWASHA or OUASSA. A power of Attorney. The term
is much used by Straits’-born or other Chinese who have
mixed with Malays, from whose language it is derived.

KWEI-CHOW KUEI-CHOU : — noble region.

One of the Eighteen Provinces. Capital city Kuei-yang
Fu 1 ^ jfj. Old name .

KWEI-PSZE or KUEI-TZU : — devils. A Chinese

term for foreigners. Sometimes used in ignorance, and
for want of a better expression ; but usually, as an insult.
Sir C. Alabaster reported that once when travelling in the
interior he was politely saluted as R A— His

Excellency the Devil. See Devils and Barbarimis.

K'WI-K‘WI or K'UAI-K'UAI: make haste!

[Mandarin.]

KYFONG: — neighbourhood. Any portion of a Chinese

town, even the whole of it, as in Hongkong, may be
called a Kyfong,

“A Kyfong meeting took place to-day .” — China Mail^
16 Jan. 1878.

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156

LAC or LAKH. A Hindi word, meaning 100,000.
Correctly written lakh. The Malay laksa= \o,;ooo.

LACQUER: From the Arabic lak, A lustrous, highly-

polished kind of wood-ware, peculiar to China and Japan.
This lustre is due to the use of the sap of a varnish'tree
(Rhus vernicifera)^ which is dissolved in spring-water
and mixed with oil and other ingredients, and then laid
on to the article in question with as many as ten or fifteen
applications for the best specimens. The lacquer made in
Foochow is the only kind which can compete with the
Japanese ; and this is said to be itself of Japanese origin.
LADRONES, THE; i.e. “The Pirates.” The group of
islands which includes Hongkong has been so called, in
imitation of the more celebrated group discovered by the
Portugese-Spanish voyager Magalhaens in 1521, and for
precisely the same reason — the piratical disposition of
their inhabitants.

LAI-OK: A fast-sailing, heavily-armed boat, built,

expressly for smuggling purposes, at Lai-ok near Canton;
whence the name. The smugglers were protected by
shields, from behind which they could work their guns;
and this made them very difficult of capture. Their boats
have now disappeared, their very existence being prohibited
by the authorities.

LALLY-LUNG or LA-LI-LOONG ; fij ^ . Pidgin term

for a thief. Said to be a corruption of the Portuguese
Ladrao. See Ladrones.

LAMA: 1 ^*)^. A priest of the Tibetan form of Buddhism.
This word, “according to the Chinese, has the meaning
“of wu shang , i^e. ‘unsurpassed’ or ‘without a

“superior.’ ” — Mayers. Colonel Yule, on the other hand,
says it means “spiritual teacher.”

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157

LAMA MI AO : B$lJ . (See Dolon Nor). A famous

mart upon the plains of Mongolia, so called because of
the two temples (ntiao) there.

LAMA TEMPLE : ^ ^ § . A monastery at Peking in
which about 1500 Mongol and Tibetan priests study the
Law of Buddha and other subjects. It is remarkable for
a colossal figure of Maitreya Buddha, 70 ft. in height.
See Daibutsii.

LAMAISM. The form of Buddhism prevailing in Mongolia
and Tibet. “Is the Romanism of the Buddhist church.” —
Koeppe7t.

LANGSON ^ lJL| AFFAIR, THE, which resulted in
hostilities between France and China, occurred on the
23rd June, 1884, and arose out of an alleged breach of
the Li-Fournier Convention Colonel Dugenne,

commanding a small French force, was marching to
occupy Langson, a town near the borders of Tongking,
which it was known was garrisoned by Chinese regular
troops. According to the official report, the French column
was fired upon a day or two before it reached the defile
where the Chinese opposed the advance in force, but it
was subsequently contended by the Chinese that this firing
was by banditti not under the control of the mandarins.
When Colonel Dugenne found his advance opposed by a
large Chinese force some parleying took place. The
French themselves admit that the Chinese asked for a delay
of two or three days in which to obtain instructions and to
evacuate their position. Colonel Dugenne sent an ultimatum
later on in the day stating he would continue his march
forward in an hour. He did advance at the end of that
period, the result being that his column was received
with a heavy fire, and had to beat a hasty retreat.

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158

LAO TZtJ: — the old philosopher. The founder of

Taoism, and reputed author of the 'Tao Te Ching (q.v.).
He was the old philosopher of China par excellence^ and
fragments of his wisdom have been preserved in the
works of Chuang Tzu as well as in the treatise mentioned
above. His birth has been fixed at B.C. 604. Said to
have had an interview with Confucius, who remarked
afterwards that he could understand the flight of birds
and the movement of fishes, but could not comprehend
Lao Tzu; concluding by saying that he could only compare
him with the dragon. The story of this interview however
has now been recognised to belong to the category of
pious frauds. He is said to have foreseen the fall of the
Chou dynasty, and to have finally taken his departure
on a journey to the west, after which he was never seen
again. As a mythological being, he is known as the
Old Boy, because born with white hair and eyebrows.
This event took place at the village of Oppressed-Virtue,
in the parish of Cruelty, in the district of Bitterness,
which was in the state of Suffering. His mother conceived
him in consequence of the emotion she felt at the sight
of a falling star, and she is said by some to have been
a virgin ( ^ -ZT ^ ^ ^ • See art. in ^ ^ pE).

He was carried in the womb for 81 years, and had large
ears with three orifices, jagged teeth, a square mouth,
and ten fingers on each hand.

LAO-YEH:^^g — old father. Equivalent to “His Honour.”
The title of Chinese officials below the grade of Subprefect.
Assistant Subprefects, Department and District Magistrates
are, however, accorded by courtesy the higher title of
Ta-lao~yeh.

LARN-PIDGIN, A. An apprentice “boy,” who attaches

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159

himself to a household with a view of learning the pidgin
(q^v.) required of a servant by foreign masters, receiving
little or no wages for the services he is able to render.

LASCAR. A general denomination for Indian sailors. Used
among the Malays in the sense of servant or slave,
contemptuously spoken. Said to be derived originally
from a Persian word meaning ar^ny^ and correctly written
Lashkar, But the Pioneer of iith December 1877 says
this term “is probably slang for Anglo-Indians.”

LATAH. A form of nervous paroxysm, common among
the natives of the Malay peninsula, under which the victim
will commit all kinds of absurdities and even crimes.

LEKIN. . See Likin,

LP 2 LANG or LELONG. Used in the Straits for an auction.
See Ye-lang.

LEPROSY : Has been known for many centuries in

China. Lepers are so far as possible isolated though
allowed to intermarry, and the Asylum for these sufferers
at Canton dates from A.D. 1380. The disease has received
scant attention at the hands of Chinese physicians; however
a few years ago a thousand copies of an illustrated
pamphlet dealing with the subject were distributed by a
wealthy man at Amoy. The treatment consisted in rubbing
the hands or feet on bamboo rollers to keep off numbness,
and in taking doses of a decoction made from a variety
of herbs.

LESSER DEVELOPMENT. See Greater Development.

LI: About one third of a mile English. 27% li= lO

miles. This word occurs in (Count) Palikao, which is
Pa~li-chHao /V M. “eight li bridge,” the name of a
village near which that general gained a victory over
the Chinese in the campaign of i860.

i6o A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

LI:^. Abstract right. The phrase “I don’t see the
i.e, the force, of doing so and so” is not unfrequently
heard among foreigners in China.

LI: Etiquette; politeness.

LI KI. See Rites ^ Book of,

LI’S LAMBS. A satirical term formerly applied by foreigners
to the soldiers under the command of Li Hung-chang,
late Viceroy of Chihli, and expressive of their ferocity
towards innocent tradesmen rather than of any signal
prowess on the battlefield.

LI SHU. See Seal Character.

LI T‘Ai-po: ^:k&. A celebrated poet, the x^nacreon
of China, who flourished A.D. 669 — 762. He was admitted
to a close intimacy with the reigning Emperor, but ultimately
lost favour and ended his days in obscurity.

LIANG or LEANG: A Chinese ounce. A tael.

LICHEE or LYCHEE: ^ A fruit found in the south
of China, and eaten both in its fresh and dried forms.
The “foreign lichee” ^ ^ is the custard-apple.

LIE TEA. A mixture of willow and other spurious leaf
with genuine tea leaf, to be fraudulently sold as tea. The
spurious leaf is fired and carefully manipulated in the
same way as the genuine leaf, but its true character is
easily detected by a tea-taster.

LI-FAN YUAN : ^ ^ ^ — the manage-feudatory-fstates)
office. The Chinese “Colonial Office,” now replaced, as
far as western nations are concerned, by the Tsung-li
Yamen fg-v.J. Has general supervision over the nomad
tribes of Mongolia and other dependencies of the Chinese
Empire.

The Russian Treaty, signed at Tientsin in 1858,
contains (Art. II.) the following words: — “Dorenavant

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i6i

“les communications entre le Gouvernement supreme de
“Russie, et le Gouvernement supreme de Chine, ne se
“feront plus comme cela etait jusqu’a present par le
“Senat d’une part et le Tribunal Li-fan-yuan de I’autre
“mais ”

LI-FOURNIER CONVENTION, was a settlement of the
Franco-Chinese difficulty in Tongking, drawn up and signed
at Tientsin, i ith May 1884, by H. E. Li Hung-chang,
Viceroy of Chihli and Captain Fournier of the Volta.
The Convention provided for the immediate withdrawal
of the Chinese forces from Tongking; respect for French
treaties with Annam past and future *, a treaty of commerce
opening for free trading in merchandise, with guarantees,
the frontiers common to Tongking and China throughout
their length; and the waiving of the indemnity claimed
by France. One of the most extraordinary diplomatic
incidents on record occurred in connection with this
Convention. Captain Fournier drew up a memorandum,
when the Convention was signed, fixing a date for the
evacuation of Tongking by the Chinese troops. After the
Langson affair had occurred Li Hung-chang officially
declared that Captain Fournier had erased the important
clause relating to the evacuation in this memorandum
and had attached his initials to the erasures. A facsimile
of the memorandum with the erasures was published.
On the other hand. Captain Fournier declared on his
honour that he made no such erasures, and he has fought
a duel with a Parisian journalist who commented on his
declaration. There was no European present but Captain
Fournier when the erasures are alleged to have been
made, but two Chinese officials who were with Li Hung-
chang at the time have placed on public record their

i 62

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

corroboration of Li Hung-chang’s declaration. Either Li
Hung-chang or Captain Fournier must have been guilty
of the gravest falsehood.

LIKIN or LEKIN; — thousandth or cash money ;

from Iz the thousandth part of a tael which is

nominally one cash and kin metal, here used for

money. [Also written ^ ^ — cash contribution.] A tax,
originally of one cash per tael on all sales, voluntarily
imposed upon themselves by the people, among whom it
was at first very popular, with a view of making up the
deficiency in the land-tax of China caused by the T^aipfing
and Nienfei troubles. It was to be set apart for military
purposes only — hence its common name “war tax;” and
was said by the Tsung-li Yamen to be adopted merely as
a temporary measure. Is now collected at rates differing
in different provinces and at different times. The Chefoo
Agreement [g>vi) makes the area of the Foreign Conces-
sions at the various Treaty ports exempt from the levy
of likin.

“Instead of abolishing the tax, the Chinese, through
“the kind offices of Sir Thomas Wade, are endeavouring
“to legalize it .” — Shanghai Courier,

LIN, COMMISSIONER: # MlJ The special Com-

missioner sent by the Emperor to Canton in 1839 to put
an end to the opium trade. These orders he attempted
to carry out by seizing and destroying some 20,000 chests
of the drug, owned by foreigners, an act which led to the
so-called “Opium War” of 1841 — 42. While in office he
dispatched a long letter to Queen Victoria, calling upon
her to prohibit the export of opium from her dominions
to China.

LING CHE or LING CH‘IH: The “ignominious

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163

slashing” or so-called “lingering death,” which should,
strictly speaking, consist in a fearful mutilation of the
limbs before giving the coup de grace, but which is now
generally modified into a few cuts on the body just before
decapitation. Is the punishment for parricide and similar
heinous crimes. Possibly the victims are drugged previous
to the operation. At any rate, in the only authentic
account we have from a foreign eye-witness (T.T. Meadows),
it is expressly stated that the man who was thus sliced
to death was not heard to utter even a groan.

LING-TOW: ^3^ — dragon’s head. The chief landing-
place upon the I. of Kulangsu (g-v.) is so called, being
the head of the dragon to which the whole island is said
to bear some resemblance.

LING A : ^ ^ — dragon’s tooth. A stone column, the
symbol of Siva, worshipped by the Hindus and found
also in western China.

LINGUISTS: ^ • English-speaking Chinese, of more

or less capabilities, employed as interpreters for the local
dialects. The intermediaries of trade between foreigners
and Chinese in the old days were so called.

LITERARY CHANCELLOR : ^ ft . A high provincial
official, specially appointed by the Emperor to superintend
the advancement of learning in his particular province.
Holds annual examinations at each of the chief towns
therein for the purpose of bestowing the degree of H slu-
ts'- ai or B.A.

LITERARY EXPOSITOR. See Urh Ya.

LITERATI, THE. This term, while really including all
literary men of no matter what rank or standing, is more
usually confined to that large section of unemployed
scholarship made up of (i) those who are waiting to get

i 64 a glossary OF REFERENCE

started in an official career, (2) those who have taken one
or more degrees and are preparing for the next, (3) those
who have failed to distinguish themselves at the public
examinations and prefer to eke out a small patrimony by
taking pupils rather than engage in the pettifoggings of
trade, and (4) those who, though possessed of sufficiently
high qualifications, have no taste for official life, and are
in a position to pass their time in the enviable seclusion
of “retired scholars” ^ it.

LITTLE LEARNING: ^ or Learning for Children

(see Great Learning^. An elementary treatise, prepared
by Chu Hsi as a first reader for boys and a stepping-
stone to the Four Books, but superseded some five to
six centuries ago by the Trimetrical Classic (q-v.). It is
written in a difficult style, quite out of keeping with the
subject matter. The following is a specimen : —

“Do not snatch your food, or eat or drink to excess.
“Do not make a noise when eating, or gnaw bones, or
“take food out of your mouth, or throw bones to dogs, etc.”

LIVING BUDDHA: A popular name for the

Hutukhtu (q^v.).

LOCKS, THE RIVER OF : ^ . A translation of a

Chinese name for the Grand Canal {g.v}j upon which there
are a considerable number of large locks^ each being under
the control of an official appointed for that purpose.

LOHAN: Same as Arhan. “Lohan cash” were cast

in the reign of the Emperor K^ang Hsi, and were thus
honourably named because believed to contain gold. The
character for Hsi appears upon them in its proper form
j?R and not as it was subsequently written. The
change is said to have been made in order to mark the
reign of this truly great Emperor.

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE 165

LOKSOY: — green water. A green dye. From the

Cantonese pronunciation of the two Chinese characters.

LOLOS; or mm or Wild hill-tribes of

Ssuch‘uan and Yunnan. Sub-divided into White and Black
Lolos, the latter being so called from the independence
of their character and the efforts which they have made
so far to avoid intermarriage with the Chinese. The word
‘‘Lolo” is a term of reproach, said to be a reduplicate
of the native word Na. Hence Laos.

LONG ELIZAS. The trade term for certain blue and white
vases ornamented with figures of tall, thin Chinawomen,
is a name derived undoubtedly from the German or
Dutch. German sailors and traders called certain Chinese
vases, from the female figures which distinguished them,
dange Lischen’ — Dutch, dange lijzen ’; — tall Lizzies., and
the English sailors and traders promptly translated this
into dong Elizas.’

LONIN. See Ronin.

LOO-CHOO or LEW-CHEW: K group of islands,

sovereignty over which was in recent years claimed by
China against Japan, and at one time nearly brought the
two countries into hostile collision. It is clear, however,
even from Chinese historical sources, that the dress,
manners and customs, language, and currency of Loo-choo
are of Japanese origin; and by a treaty made in 1874,
subsequent to the dispute above-mentioned, China formally
acknowledges the Loochooans to be subjects of Japan.

LOQUAT : ^ — rush orange. A fruit found in the south of

China. Our word is the Cantonese pronunciation of the above
two characters. The story of the supposed resemblance
of the loquat leaves to a donkey’s ear is apocryphal.

LORCHA; A vessel of about 100 tons burthen,

1 66 A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

having a hull of European build, and originally commanded
by a European captain ; but rigged with Chinese masts
and sails, and manned by Chinese sailors. The word
lorcha is usually believed to have been introduced from
South America by the Portuguese; but Mr. Justin McCarthy
says it is taken from the Portuguese settlement at the
mouth of the Canton river.

LO-TI SHUI: — arrive at destination duty. A

duty originally levied by Chinese officials on foreign-owned
goods sent into the interior under Transit Pass, after the
said goods had passed into 7iative hands at their place of
destination. Now irregularly levied at some ports on
goods brought from the interior by natives for sale to
foreign merchants. The term ^ 5 has been substituted
in certain parts of Kuangsi, with a view to shew that
the tax is incident upon the resident merchant and not
upon the foreign importer.

LOUVRE or LOUVER. The half-doors, common in th'e
East, which prevent people from seeing into bedrooms as
they pass by, while at the same time admitting the
necessary current of air. Used chiefly in the south of
China. From the French P ouvert^ from ouvrir to open.

LOWDAH: — the old great one. Captain of a junk.

Foreigners call their head boatmen lowdahs^ chiefly in
Shanghai and at the Yangtsze ports; tai-kong
heard more frequently in the south.

LUCRABAN SEEDS: • Brought from Siam, and

used as a medicine by the Chinese.

LUKONG LOKONG : ^Jg— old watchman. The
Hongkong native constables are so called. Satirically
spoken of as “look-ons,” from absence of energy in the
discharge of their duties.

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE 167

LU LI : ^ . The Penal Code of China.

LUNGAN or LUNG-NGAN : ^ — dragon’s eyes. A

fruit found in southern China, and sometimes called the
wild lichee.

LUNGCHOW : ^ . A Treaty Port in Kuangsi.

LU-PAN : § The Archimedes of China.

“Wonderful stories are related of his ingenuity; among
“others it is said that his father having been put to death
“by the men of Wu he carved an effigy in wood of
“a genie whose hand pointed in the direction of Wu,
“where, in consequence, a drought prevailed for the
“space of three years.” — Mayers.

He is now regarded as the patron saint of carpenters*,
and the expression ^ ^ ^ ^ "7" “to brandish

“a hatchet at Lu-pan’s door” is the exact equivalent of
“teach your grandmother to suck eggs.”

LUZON or LU^ON : § The native name for the

Philippine Islands, discovered by Magalhaens in 1521,
annexed by the Spanish in 1569, and ceded to the United
States in 1899. From the fact of these islands being in
the possession of the Spanish, the Chinese came to apply
this name to Spain itself, prefixing the word ^ great.
Luzon appears to have been originally peopled by Negritos,
who were ultimately subdued by invading Malays. See
Filipinos.

M A : Used in Canton in the sense of a “yard” English.

MACAO: . A small peninsula to the extreme south-

west of the Kuang-tung province, first occupied by the
Portuguese trading with China in 1557. It appears that
Macao was actually ceded to the Portuguese in 156^1 on
condition of payment of an annual tribute to the Chinese
Government, which was to be represented in Macao by

i68 A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

a resident mandarin. The said payment ceased in 1849,
after the war between Portugal and China, and the
barbarous assassination by the Chinese of Ferreira de
Amaral, Governor of Macao. Meanwhile, the colony was
(until 1844) under the jurisdiction of Goa, and was in
every way the property of Portugal. Of late years China
has endeavoured to resume her lost suzerainty, and the
inability of Portugal to negotiate a Treaty with China is
due solely to the fact that the former refuses to surrender
Macao. The Portuguese name is said to be derived from
A. -ma-ngao 55 im m — the port of the goddess A-ma.
Is sometimes called the Holy City (g^v.).

The term ma-ku as applied to tobacco ( 55 ^ ^ ^8 ) and
seen in Canton at shops and stalls where cigarettes are
sold, is probably a reproduction of the European word
Macao, especially as cigarettes are so commonly smoked
by the Portuguese.

“The birthday of the King of Portugal was celebrated
“yesterday in the usual way, a goodly number of Chinese
“merchants assembling to make the customary kotau
“(see kotow) to the effigy of the King .” — China Mail
I St Nov. 1877.

MACARTNEY’S EMBASSY, LORD. A mission dispatched
from England to China in 1792, at the close of the
glorious reign of the Emperor Chden Lung, for the
purpose of placing mercantile relations between the two
countries on a better footing. Sir C. Staunton, who had
picked up a knowledge of Chinese in Italy, was a page
in Lord Macartney’s suite and was specially noticed by
His Imperial Majesty who patted him on the head and
gave him an ornamental purse from his own person.
MACE : ChHen, The tenth part of a Chinese tael or

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE 169

ounce. From the Sanskrit mRsha a bean; hence a weight
of gold or silver.

MAD AT (Malay). An inferior preparation of opium, made
from the covering which encloses the drug.

MAFOO ; ^ — horse-man. The Chinese groom or

“horse-boy.”

MAGISTRATE, DISTRICT. See Chih-hsien.

MAGO. Japanese term for a pack-horse leader.

MAHARAJA. A Sanskrit compound, meaning Great King.
Maharani = Great Queen.

MAHOMMEDANS: [bI . First settled in China in the

Year of the Mission, A.D. 628, under Wahb-Abi-Kabcha,
a maternal uncle of Mahomet, who was sent with presents
to the Emperor. Wahb-Abi-Kabcha travelled by sea to
Canton, and thence overland to Si-ngan Fu, the capital,
where he was well received. The first mosque was built
at Canton, where, after several restorations, it still exists.
Another mosque was erected in 742, but many of these
M. came to China simply as traders, and by and by
went back to their own country. The true stock of the
present Chinese Mahommedans was a small army of 4,000
Arabian soldiers sent by the Khaleef Abu Giafar in 755
to aid in putting down a rebellion. These soldiers had
permission to settle in China, where they married native
wives; and three centuries later, with the conquests of
Genghis Khan, large numbers of Arabs penetrated into
the Empire and swelled the Mahommedan community.

MAI-PAN. See Compradore,

MA-KWA or MAGWA : iB| — horse jacket. The short

outer jacket, chiefly worn by the northern Chinese. A
yellow ma-kwa is a distinction conferred by the Emperor
on high officials; sometimes called the Yellow Riding

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

Jacket^ and said to have been first bestowed on the
famous Viceroy Tseng Kuo-fan in 1855 by the Emperor
Hsien Feng, who drew off the jacket he was wearing
at the time and placed it on the shoulders of his great
Minister and General. It is supposed to bring the wearer
into close proximity with the Emperor and Imperial
interests. Hence, in Cantonese slang, a Yellow Jacket is
a person chosen from among the near relatives of a
merchant or shop-keeper to exercise certain responsible
functions connected with the business that could hardly
be delegated to a stranger.

MAITREYA BUDDHA : ^ If # —the Merciful One.
The coming Buddha, expected to appear and open a new
era about 3,000 years hence. Is often depicted as a
laughing god in Chinese temples.

MAKURA-KOTOBA. See Pillow^ Words.

MAKURA ZOSHI or Pillow Sketches. A collection of
miscellaneous jottings by Sei Shonagon, a Japanese lady
of high rank who lived in the 9th and loth cent. A.D.

MALAY: ^ ^ ■ From the native word Malaiu.

MALOO, THE: ^ — horse road. Name of a street

running east and west through the middle of the British
Settlement at Shanghai. From the Mandarin pronunciation
of the above two characters, which were used for “high
road” as early as the 6th century B.C.

Hence the term Maloo Mixture or ^ ^ ^

Resurrection Tea, a medley of used tea-leaves, the leaves of
various other plants, and rubbish of all kinds, manufactured
in Shanghai and shipped to England as tea.

MAMEY: — little sister. A common Chinese term,

learnt by European children in the north of China from
native nurses, and applied to their younger sister.

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE 17 1

MANCHU: . A native of Manchuria, whence came

the conquerors of China and the founders (1644) ^he
present dynasty. Manchu garrisons are stationed at the
most important points in the Empire, such as Canton,
Foochow, etc. (see Tartar General), In 1599 Nurhachu,
the famous chieftain who really founded the Manchu
power, gave orders to the Erdeni G ^ Pakosh and
another scholar to provide the increasing Manchu nation
with a written language. This they did by basing the new
script upon Mongol, which was based upon Ouigour, which
in turn had been based upon Syriac. Manchu is written
in vertical columns like Chinese but reads from left to right.

MANDARIN. Any Chinese official, civil or military, who
wears a button (q.v.) may be so called. From the Portu-
guese 7 nandar to command. A comparison has also been
suggested with the Sanskrit fnandtrmt.

“ 'I am an old friend of the family: his son is now a
“ ‘major.’ The little boy did not know what was meant
“ by a major so the trader told him it was the title of
“ a Chinese mandarin ( B ). ‘And what is a mandarinV
“asked the boy. ‘A mandarin,’ replied the trader, ‘is
“ ‘one who rides out in a sedan-chair or on a horse ; who
“ ‘when at home sits in a lofty hall *, whose summons is
“ ‘answered by a hundred voices; who is looked at only
“ ‘with sidelong eyes, and in whose presence all people
“‘stand aslant: — this is to be a mandarin.’” Stra 7 ige
Stories from a Chhicse Studio,, V^ol. I, p. 403.
MANDARIN DIALECT: fS. The common language

spoken by educated persons all over the Chinese Empire,
as opposed to the various local dialects. Pekingese, shorn
of its patois,, may now be considered as the standard
“Mandarin” which it is most desirable for foreigners to

172 A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

acquire. Southern Mandarin is based upon the Nankingese
pronunciation; and differs from the northern dialect in the
substitution of k and ts for ch^ e.g.^ kin for chin “gold,”
ts^ien for chHen “a thousand,” and other similar letter-
changes. Strictly speaking, “Mandarin” is a mistranslation
of , which is here equivalent to ^ “public” or “common
to all” — the vulgar tongue, the use of which dates from
the 13th cent. A.D.

MANDARIN DUCK: A beautiful species of duck

(anas galericulataj, so called because of its superiority
over other kinds of ducks, and not because it is set apart
for mandarins. Emblem of conjugal fidelity. Hence, a
kind of sword, with two blades in one sheath, is known
to the Chinese as ^ ^ “mandarin duck sword.”
MANDARIN ORANGE: (i) tH" (2) • The loose-

skinned orange of China. The first kind is sometimes
called the “coolie-mandarin,” because resembling the coolie
orange (q^v,) in colour and having a rather tighter skin
than the latter which is also of a much deeper hue. The
slang phraseology of Europeans at Canton divides the
two species into “tight” and “loose” mandarins.

MANDOLIN. The Chinese guitar is sometimes so called.
From the Italian mandolino.

MANDOR. A Malay corruption of the Portuguese mandador,
A superintendent; an inspector of workmen; a headman
or “boss,” etc., etc. “Yesterday afternoon, the Mandor,
“who is a Hadji (q.v.J^ applied for his own and the

“other coolies’ wages ” — Hongkong Daily Press of

22 Sep. 1877 (from the Straits' Times),

MANGO: The fruit of the Mangifera

indica. From the Malay mangga,, of which the Chinese
characters imitate the sound.

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173

MANGOSTEEN. The fruit of the Garcinia mangostana.
From the Malay manggistan.

MANICHAEANS: These worshippers of

the Chaldaean Mani or Manes, who died about A.D.
274, appear to have found their way to China in the
6th cent., a Manichaean temple at Si-ngan Fu, the
capital of Shensi, being mentioned as early as 621. In
807 they made formal application to be allowed to have
recognised places of meeting.

MANILA LOTTERY. A lottery formerly held once every
month at Manila under the sole management and
proprietorship of the Hispano-Philippine Administration.
The number of tickets (which were at $ 5.00 each, but
subdivisible into ten parts at $0.50 apiece) was 12,000
monthly. The highest prize for ten months of the year
was $ 1 6,000; the total amount of the monthly prizes
being $45,000, divided between 487 tickets, the rest
being blanks. But in June and December the price of a
ticket was $ 20, and $ 180,000 was divided between 453
winning tickets, the highest being $ 60,000, the next
$25,000, the five next $5,000 each, etc., etc. The profits
of the Government were 4 per cent. Some said the
drawings were fairly conducted ; others maintained a
contrary opinion. The tickets and coupons, the sale of
which was illegal in China, were at first numbered in the
ordinary way, but an attempt at forgery by the addition
of a figure compelled the management to adopt the
system of having all marked with same number of
places \ hence 123 was written 00123, etc., etc. Moreover,
the line where the ticket was separated from the foil was
wavy, not straight ; holders had therefore to be careful
not to attempt to improve the edges of their paper.

174

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

MANJI or MANZI. Old name for that part of China
south of the Hoang-ho. From ^ ^ 7 nan tzu, the
savages of the south.

MANJUSRI. See Wen Shu.

MAN-MAN: — go slowly. A common phrase in use

all over China. To go slowly^ to wait — e.g..^ tell my
chair-coolies to inan-man., i.e.^ to wait for me.

MANTRA. The name of a charm practised by the Hindus,
in which sense it is found in Buddhistic writings.

MANTUY or MANTOO. A corruption heard in Central
Asia of the Chinese 77 tan-t^ou ^ steamed flour
dumplings.

MANYOSHIU. a collection of Japanese poetry of the 7th
and 8th cent. A.D. The modern official edition runs to
122 vols, containing 4000 pieces in all, mostly Tanka.

MAO-TZU : ^ — hairy ones. A common term for

foreigners among the Chinese at Tientsin. Mr. Swinhoe
is said to have translated this expression by “hats”
), from the identity in sound, but not in tone
(q.v.)^ of the two characters ^ and

MAQUI MA-K‘UAI: swift as a horse. A kind

of detective policeman employed at all Magistrates’
Yamens in China. Sometimes used for the constable of
a foreign Consulate, in which sense ^ ^ would be a
more appropriate term.

MARCO POLO: The celebrated Venetian traveller

who visited China in 1274, bearing letters from Pope
Gregory X to Kublai Khan fq.v.J, and who spent 24
years in the East. During three years of this time he
held high civil office, and was also sent on a mission to
the king of Annam under the title of ^ ^

Privy Councillor, Assistant Envoy, Polo. Was afterwards

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE 175

known to his countrymen as Messer Marco Mzllione from
his frequent use of the word million as applied to the
wealth of China and the Great Khan.

MARRIAGES in China are arranged by go-betweens who
are legally responsible for their share in the transaction.
One important preliminary consists in comparing the year,
month, day, and hour, at which the two parties were
born, to ascertain that they are in astrological harmony.

If these negotiations are followed up by acceptance,
on the part of the bride’s family, of marriage-presents,
and if no misrepresentation of facts can be proved by
either side against the other, the marriage-contract is
held to be complete, and neither party is allowed to draw
back. A day is fixed, and the bridegoom fetches the
bride in a gaudy red sedan-chair from her home to his
own, where they worship together in the ancestral hall,
and rise up man and wife.

The re-marriage of widows is not prohibited, but
strongly discountenanced by public opinion. Marriage may
not be celebrated during the period of mourning for a
parent and certain other near relations; nor (with notable
exceptions) between people bearing the same surname ;
nor between first cousins either on the father s or the
mother’s side. Custom, however, interprets this last clause
as applicable only to first cousins of the same surname.
No legal objection was raised to the suggested marriage
of the hero and heroine of the Hung-loti-zneng ( l-v.)
nor to the hero’s actual marriage with Pao-cEai. See
Polygazny and Divorce,

MARU: A— revolving, referring to the paddle-wheels or
screw. Japanese suffix to the names of steamers ; e.g.

Genka-maru.

176 A GLOSSARY OR REFERENCE

MASAMUN^). A famous Japanese swordsmith, A.D.
1264—1343.

MASKEE. Pidgin term for “never mind,” “no matter,”
etc. Possibly from the Portuguese disjunctive mas,

MASSANPO. A port on the south-west coast of Korea,
possessing one of the finest harbours in the Far East.

MASTER OF HEAVEN. An inaccurate rendering of the
term ^ or Divine Teacher, found in the works of
Chuang Tzu (ch. ^ ^ $L)- R has long been applied
to the Taoist pope, in whose body is supposed to reside
the soul of a celebrated Taoist, 5^ ^ Chang Tao-ling,
who discovered the elixir of life and became forthwith
an immortal, some eighteen hundred years ago. The
people believe him competent to effect marvellous cures
and work other miracles; and from the proceeds of an
extensive business in charms etc., he manages to derive
a not inconsiderable income. At his death, the precious
soul above mentioned will take up its abode in the body
of some youthful member of the family whose name will
be hereafter revealed,

MATA-MATA. LzL “all eyes.” A policeman. From the
Malayan ma^a an “eye.”

“In any case I can allege from personal knowledge
“that bribery is an every-day matter in Singapore from
“the lowest mata-mata to the highest — (better not say
“what, perhaps ).” — China Mail (copied from Straits'
Times'),

MATE-MATE. Japanese for “wait a little;” equivalent to
the Chinese znan-man.

MATOW : IS — horse’s head. The Chinese for jetty or

pier, in common use among foreigners. No satisfactory
explanation of this term has been found hitherto. The

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177

execution ground at Canton is called , probably

from the name of a jetty or landing place at no great
distance. here means chiefs this being the point

at which all high officials land, and near which their
boats may be seen anchored in large numbers.

MATRIMONIAL. Another name for the hong-boat (q^v.)
in use at Canton. So called because well adapted for
ladies.

MAUM CHOW. See CJiowfah.

MAYA; mw. The immaculate mother of Shakyamuni
Buddha, whose name is strikingly similar to that of Mary
the mother of Jesus. Among other similarities existing
between the Roman Catholic and Buddhist churches may
be mentioned celibacy, fasting, use of candles and flowers
on the altar, incense, holy water, and ceremonials generally.
See Ah.

MENCIUS: ^ — the philosopher Meng, often spoken

of as the Second Sage, Confucius being the first.

The Chinese sounds mcng~tzu were latinised by the Jesuit
missionaries into their present form. Flourished B.C.
372 — 289. His works form one of the Four Books (q,v.)^
and the following are specimens : —

“Mencius said, I like fish and I also like bear’s paws.
“If I cannot have both, I will forego the fish and take
“the bear’s paws. Similarly, I like living and I like doing
“ my duty to my neighbour ; but if I cannot do both,
“ I will forego life in preference to foregoing my duty.

“Mencius said. Take a man whose third finger is bent
“and cannot be stretched out straight. It is not painful,
“neither does it interfere with his work; yet if there were
“any one who could make it straight, he would think
“nothing of journeying such a distance as from Chdn to

178

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

“Ch'u, simply because his finger is not as good as
“those of other people. But to be grieved because one’s
“finger is not as good as other people’s, and not to be
“grieved because one’s heart is not as good as other
“people’s — this is called ignorance of the relative importance
“of categories.”

MENG-TZU : ^ ^ . A Treaty Port in the province of
Yunnan.

MERMAN or MERMAID. The Chinese have for many
centuries believed in the existence of creatures half human
half fish. A nation of such beings is described and figured
in the ^ ^ of the 14th cent., under the name of

^ A ® .

MESMERISM; Was once widely known in China

as a cure for various diseases, but is now prohibited and
only practised in secret. The modus operandi is as follows.
A Taoist priest, known for his skill in the art, is requested
to attend at the house of a sick person for the purpose
of administering kang~fu\ and accordingly, after arranging
what is to be paid for his services and securing part ot
the sum in advance, he proceeds to fit up within the
patient’s room an altar for burning incense and joss-paper
and for worship generally. Muttered incantations follow,
as the priest walks slowly and with prescribed steps round
and round the room. By-and-by, he approaches the sick
man and partly raises him, or turns him on his back or
side, or lifts up a leg or an arm, or gently shampoos
him, the object being all the time to bring the sick
man’s mind into rapport with his own. When the priest
thinks he has accomplished this, he commands the patient
to perspire or to become cool, or gives instructions for
the regulation of pulse and heart, in each case according

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179

to what he conceives to be the exigencies of the disease.
The whole scene is rendered as impressive as possible
by silence, and by darkening the room, with the exception
of one oil-lamp by the light of which is dimly visible
the silhouette of the robed priest waving his large sleeves
in the air. The imaginative faculty of the sick man is
thus excited.

MEXICANS. Abbreviation for Mexican dollars.

MIAO-TZU : ^ ^ — shoots or sons of the soil. The

aboriginal tribes of certain mountainous districts in the
south and south-west provinces of China.

MIDDLE KINGDOM, THE ; H . A translation of the
common Chinese name for China ; it being generally
believed that China is situated at the centre of the earth,
surrounded by the Four Seas, beyond which lie a number
of small islands inhabited by the red-haired barbarians
who come to the Middle Kingdom to trade. The term
is of great antiquity, but at one time seems to have been
confined to Honan. It was also applied by early Buddhist
writers to Central India.

MIH-HO-LOONG: — extinguish-fire-dragon. The

celebrated European volunteer fire brigade of Shanghai.
[A Chinese fire-engine is called a ‘‘wacer dragon.”]

MIKADO: (1) f^P Imperial gate. The ruler who, as
spiritual Emperor, formerly shared the sovereignty of
Japan with the Shogun (q.v.) or temporal Emperor; and
who at death became a kami or god. Known to the
Chinese as the ^ ^ Civil Sovereign. Since 1867, when
the Shogun submitted and retired into private life, the
Mikado has been sole Emperor of Japan. The first Mikado
is said to have sprung from the sun. (2) Also derived
from ntika great, and to {do in composition) a place.

i8o A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

MIKOTO : An honorific epithet of a kami (q.v.). Has

been wrongly believed to be a title of the Mikado.
MING DYNASTY THE MINGS: ming, bright.

A dynasty which ruled China from 1368 to 1628 and was
noted for the severity of its laws. A piece of pottery or
a curio of that date is often spoken of as ‘‘a Ming;” at
the same time, not one-tenth of the china stamped with
the i^m great Ming brand really belongs to that epoch ;
in fact, it is roundly asserted that the presence of the
stamp is now conclusive evidence of a spurious imitation.
See Blue.

MING TOMBS: The tombs of the Emperors of

the Ming dynasty. Some of these are near Nanking; the
rest, and by far the finest, about one day’s journey from
Peking, whither the Emperor Yung Lo transferred his
court in 1411. The chief objects of interest at these
tombs are the avenues of enormous animals and human
figures carved in stone. See Stofie Figures.

MIRROR 0 ¥ HISTORY: Name of a famous history

of China from the 4th cent. B.C. to the 10th cent. A.D.,
completed by ^ -jit Ssu-ma Kuang in 1084. It was
subsequently revised by Chu Hsi, which work is known
as the M ^ ^ @ •

MIRRORS : ^ or . Circular mirrors of polished metal,
often beautifully chased at the back, have been known
to the Chinese from the earliest ages, though now
superseded by glass.

Confucius said, “As you look into a bright mirror to
“see your face, so you must look back into the past to
“know the present.”

Chuang Tzu, 3rd and 4th cent. B.C., wrote, “The
“perfect man employs his mind as a mirror. It grasps

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i8i

“nothing; it refuses nothing. It receives, but does not
“keep.”

“To a beauty, mankind is the mirror in which she
“sees herself. If no one tells her that she is beautiful, she
“does not know that she is so.”

MISSIONARIES. See Protestant and Roman Catholic.

MIXED COURT, THE ^ ^ ^ . A tribunal, instituted
at Shanghai in 1869, for the hearing (i) of all cases between
Chinese resident within the settlements, (2) of all civil and
criminal cases (except murder and certain serious charges
between Chinese and foreign residents), in which Chinese
are defendants, and (3) of cases in which foreigners are the
defendants, provided always they are uitrepresented by a
Consul on the spot. The Court consists of a Chinese official
having the rank of sub-Prefect and a foreign Assessor, the
latter being always, in civil suits, a representative of the
nationality involved. Otherwise, a British Assessor sits
three times, an American twice and a German once,
a week. The Court was formerly held at the British
Consulate, but has since been transferred to a building
in the Maloo at the entrance to which may usually

be seen a number of convicted prisoners wearing the
cangue (q^v.). The punishments inflicted range from 20
blows with the bamboo to three or four years’ penal
servitude. Over the outer gates may be seen the following
legend: ^ ^ ^ S , “men flock from afar

“while those who are near rejoice. Business brisk and the
“people prosperous.”

MODEL SETTLEMENT, THE. A local name for Shanghai,
once characterised by the Duke of Somerset in Parliament
as a “sink of iniquity,” this generous estimate having
been based, as the Duke himself explained, upon the

i 82

GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

reports of naval officers afid others who had visited
the place.

“I am not burning to return to the Model Sink . — ”
Letter from E. C. Baber in the North-China Herald.

MOGUL, THE GREAT. The Persian corruption of Mongol
(q.v.J. The title of the Emperors who, after the conquest
of Hindustan, ruled at Delhi from A.D. 1526 to 1803.
The first occupant of the Imperial Throne was Baber, and
among his most illustrious successors may be mentioned
Akbar and Aurungzeb.

MO-LI-HWA or MOLY : ^ ^ . The jasmine. Name

of a celebrated Chinese tune. Compare Odyssey.^ X, 305,

* /Xw)vU jULtV Xa)v£0U(7t &cOi

identified with the mandrake. See Pliny, Nat. Hist.^ XXV, 4.

MOMEIN, The Burmese name for T^eng-yiieh in the

province of Yunnan.

MONGOL: Said to be an imitation of moengel

celestial, or as some writers say, “brave.” The great
Turanian stock, whence have come, at different epochs
of the world’s history, the Scythians, the Huns, the con-
querors of China (see Genghis Khan), and of India
(see Mogul).

“Baschpa” Mongol is the name of a form of writing,
invented A.D. 1269 by Q Q Baschpa or ’Phagspa,
a Tibetan lama, under the direction of Kublai Khan.
It was based upon Ouigour which had been based upon
Syriac (see Manchu), and is written in vertical lines and
connected by ligatures.

MONSOON. From the Arabic mausim “season-” the
season winds.

Monsoons are shifting trade winds in the East Indian
ocean, which blow periodically, some for half a year one

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183

way, others but for three months, and then shift and
blow for six or three months directly contrary. These
winds are constant and periodical, as far as the thirtieth
degree of latitude, all round the globe.

MONTO. A Buddhist sect, founded in Japan in A.D. 1262
by a man named Shinran. Celibacy, fasting, monastic life,
and the sacred books in Sanskrit, are the chief features
of ordinary Buddhism against which the Monto sect
protests.

MOON : ^ . Symbol of the Female or Negative Principle
in nature. Is popularly thought to be inhabited. Used in
the sense of month, the Chinese being a lunar year of
12 months, with an intercalary month (q^v.) in every third
year to rectify the calendar. Chinese servants struggled
at first against the payment of their wages according to
the European year as they thus lost a month (i.e. the
intercalary) once in every three years. The first, fifth,
and ninth moons are considered specially unlucky. In
these months Chinamen will not marry, nor change houses,
neither will Mandarins take over their seals of office. The
first moon of the year was known as IE cheng^ until the
F'irst Emperor (q.v.) altered the sound to cheng^^ because
part of his own name was sounded chhig^^ though
differently written. There seems to be a tradition that
the ancient Chinese year consisted of ten months only.
Many fanciful names are applied to the months, often
associated with flowers and fruits.

The 1ST MOON is called

The I St day of the i st is called 7 C M. - H •

, 7th , „ „ A 0 ’ M M-

» 1 5th ,

± 7C^ TU W

184

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

The 2ND MOON is called ^

or Apricot month.

I St day of the 2nd

7 )

ft* ^0

The

2nd day of 2nd is called ^ ^ 1

1 2th

M 7 C-

3RD MOON

or Peach month.

3rd day of the 3rd

± a

7 )

4TH MOON

or Sophora 7nonth.

8 th day of the 4 th

■is*.

5TH MOON

7 >

^ M , or Po7negranate
7nonth.

5 th day of the 5 th

7 )

C^.^ft*-

13th

7 )

rim -

6th moon

7 >

mn- mn or

Lotus month.

6th day of the 6th

24th

mm -

7TH MOON

JJk M or Melon month.

7th day of the 7th

^ 0 - -fc

15th

7 )

8th moon

m.M-- mn o.

Cassia month.

5 th day of the 8th

15th

ft*

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

185

The 9TH MOON is called ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ >

or Chrysanthemum

month.

„ 9th day of the 9th ^
„ lOTH MOON „

I 5 th day of the i oth „

^ ^ ^ ^ M or Plum
month.

T 7C-

, IITH MOON , ^ M OV

Hibiscus 771 on th .

„ I2TH MOON „

„ 8th day of the i 2th „

» 30th

N.B . — Those names marked with an asterisk are taken
from the or Book of Changes (q.v.).

MOORMEN (corrupted to Morramen) : Q Sl — white

head men. A common term in Canton for the miscellaneous
natives of India who go there to trade. The Chinese
name is taken from the turban worn by Mahommedans
and others ; while our word has been fancifully derived
from mm 7 nao lou men, or ‘‘ugly face” people. The
Parsees, formerly called ® a name now used for

Persia, are included in this category.

MORTGAGES of land or tenements in China should,
according to the Penal Code, be duly registered at the
office of the local magistrate. Second mortgages are
illegal. If the mortgagor, at the end of the period
specified in the deed, is unable to discharge the mortgage,
he may either retain his right to recover the land at any

^ or the Sacrificial month.

MB-

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A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

future period, in which case the mortgagee may re-mortgage
to another party *, or he may surrender the land absolutely,
in consideration of a further sum to be agreed upon
between himself and the mortgagee.

MOSQUITO. From the Latin musca a fly, through the
Italian, Spanish, or Portuguese, mosca. The English
orthography should therefore be mtiskito. Tincture of
Pyrethrum roseuni applied to the skin is recommended as
an excellent protection against mosquito bites. The best
local sedative of the irritation caused by bites is liquid
ammonia, but any strong spirit is also effectual.

For a valuable discovery, by Dr. P. Manson formerly of
Amoy, that a certain species of mosquito is the intermediate
host of the Jilaria sanguinis hommis^ and probably the
carrier of infection in elephantoid diseases, see the Chinese
Customs’ Medical Reports^ No. 14, page 10.

MOTH EYEBROWS: M • Eyebrows which resemble the

markings over the eyes of the silkworm moth, considered
a great beauty by the Chinese. This similitude is a favourite
with poets : —

And as the strains steal o’er me
Her moth-eyebrows rise oefore me.

The term has been wrongly referred to the antennae
of the same insect.

MOTOORI. 1730 — 1801. A voluminous Japanese writer.
His chief work was the Kojiki-den, a commentary on the
Kojiki (q,v,).

MOUKDEN. The Manchu name of F'eng-tflen Fu^ ^
the capital of Manchuria.

MOURNING. On the death of a parent the Chinese son
refrains from shaving either head or beard for one hundred
days, and dresses in complete? white, even down to the

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

silk with which he finishes off his queue. It is only the
white hat and white shoes, however, which infallibly
betoken mourning, white jackets being commonly worn
by the people. The duration of this period is from a
nominal three years (actually, 27 months) for a father or
mother, down to three months for more distant relatives.
A child mourns three years for its parents in memory of
the three years of infancy when it was wholly dependent
upon their aid. See Cards.

MOW or MOU : The Chinese acre. About of an

English acre • but varies in different places. In Shanghai
the official mow is held to contain 7,260 sq. ft. English,
and is subdivided into fun., haou., le^ sze., and hoo. The
Municipal mow is taken at 6,600 sq. ft. See Weights and
Meastires.

The subjoined Notification published in 1861, by H.M.
Consul, defines the area of a Shanghai mow : —

“The following definitions of the contents of a Shanghai
^mow, obtained from the official land measurer of the
“district, and checked by careful examination of his
“measuring instruments, is published for general information.

“Each mow is 240 />oo long by i poo broad, and
“contains therefore 240 square poo.

“The poo measures 5 feet Chinese Government rule
( equal to 66 inches English. A square poo therefore
contains 30.25 square feet English, and a square 7 now
7,260 square feet English. It follows that a square piece
of ground measuring 85.20569 feet, or 85V5 feet every
way, contains exactly one Shanghai mow'"

MOXA BURNING THE. A form of actual cautery
used by the Chinese and Japanese. From the dried and
beaten leaves of Artemisia Moxa are prepared pastilles,

i88

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

which being applied to the skin and set on fire (properly,
with the aid of a burning-glass), burn slowly down and
leave eschars. At one time Moxa acquired a considerable
reputation amongst French physicians-, but both that
and acupuncture — equal favourites with Far-Eastern
practitioners — are too heroic remedies to find favour with
Europeans. Is employed chiefly for neuralgia, sciatica,
and such complaints; and also among Buddhist priests,
for branding the heads of novices when taking the usual
vows on entry into a religious life. Corruption of the
Japanese Mookasa.

“Moxa, praestantissima cauteriorum materia, Sinensibus
“ Japonibusque multum usitata.” — Kaempfer’s Ainc^nitates
Exoticce^ fasc. iii, obs. 12.

MUCK-AND-TRUCK. A department of trade in the
Far East, which deals with hides, bristles, bones, etc.,
and is much looked down upon by the ordinary British
merchant.

MULLS. Madras Englishmen are so called because of
their good mulligatawny.

MUNDOO or MENDU. A Mongolian form of salutation=
How d’ye do.?^

MUNSHANG; ±. The door-keeper of a yamen (g^v^J
or any large establishment. This functionary receives no
pay, but takes squeezes from suitors, commission from
tradesmen on sales, etc. etc.

MUSIC: m. (i) Ancient. Said to have been invented by
Hwang Ti^ (q.v.)^ but few traces of it survived the
Burning of the Books fq.v.J. We know that it was
reckoned very powerful as an agent of good government,
and was part of the ordinary curriculum of an educated
man in early ages. As to quality, Confucius himself was

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE 189

so impressed by the execution of a piece composed by
the Emperor Shun, sixteen centuries previously, that ‘‘for
“three months he could not tell one kind of meat from
“another.” This too when there were only 5 notes.

(2) Modern. Sub-divided into ritual music, which is
generally of a minor character, and popular or theatrical
music. The notation is cumbrous. A note indicates simply
a certain sound at a certain height, but there is no
indication of its value. Thus, it is quite impossible to
learn a tune from the written notes. The characters
ZL ± R X Hi jE correspond to our five lines
and four spaces. Rests are marked, but their duration
is a matter of taste. The only recognised measure is in
four time • others are however admitted, especially that
in three time. There are no sharps, flats, or naturals.
The scale is neither major nor minor but participates
in the two. It is not tempered. There is nothing like
Jiartno 7 iy \ the only association of different and simultaneous
sounds being that produced by two strings at a distance
of a fourth, a fifth, or an octave.

MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. According to the Chinese
these are of eight kinds, being made either from the
gourd, earthenware, leather, wood, stone, metal, silk, or
bamboo, and comprise such varieties as the reed-organ,
the ocarina, the drum, castanets, the musical stone or
stone-chime, cymbals, the guitar, and the flute.

MUSK: mm. A favourite perfume with the Chinese,
obtained from the civet (Viverra zibetta)., which animal,
when pursued by hunters, is fictitiously said to tear out
its scent-gland with its claws and so escape death.

MUSMEE: A waitress at a Japanese tea-house.

Literally: a girl.

190

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

NACODAH. Correctly 7 iakhoda\ a Persian word meaning
the captain of a boat.

NAG AS. The “dragon race.” A tribe of the Tibeto-
Burman family, now occupying the eastern boundary of
Bengal, said to be a remnant of the powerful people who
inhabited the Gangetic valley before the Aryan invasion
of India.

NAGASAKI: A port in Japan.

NAGA-UTA. The “long” poetry of the Japanese. In point
of metre it is the same as the Tanka (q>v.)^ with an
additional phrase of 7 syllables, making 38 syllables to
each stanza, but without any limit to the length of
the poem.

NAGOYA. That quarter of the yashiki or feudal mansion
of a daimio (q^v.) occupied by his two-sworded retainers.

NAKODO. Matrimonial go-betweens employed by the
Japanese.

NAILS. Many educated and wealthy Chinese allow one
or more of their finger-nails to grow long, as a sign that
the owner does not earn his living by manual labour.
These nails are occasionally from 1V2 to 2 inches in
length, and are guarded by elegant silver sheaths.

Est-ce par Pongle long qu’il porte au petit doigt
Qu’il s’est acquis chez vous I’estime ou Ton le voit?

Moliere, Le Misanthrope^ Acte ii. Sc. i.

NAI-MAH: A wet-nurse.

NAMAH (in Pali “namo”) AMITABBHA : ^ AS

^ “Hear us, O Amida Buddha!” A formula of
adoration used by Chinese Buddhists in their liturgies, at
the invocation of the Trinity, etc. ; also frequently seen
written on walls, or cut on stone tablets both in town
and country. (See O-me-to fu).

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

191

NAN NING FU: A new Treaty Port in the

province of Kuangsi.

NANKEEN. Cloth made at Nanking from unbleached
cotton.

NANKING : ^ — southern capital. Now known as

Kiang-ning Fu, the capital city of Kiangsu. Until 1411
the residence of the Court; hence the name. In 212
A.D., Sun Chilian, the first Emperor of the Wu
dynasty, established his capital at Nanking, which he
founded under the name of^^. Variously known as
0 P'l’S etc. See Porcelain

Tower.

NATS: The spirits of nature as worshipped by the

Burmans. These are not in any way connected with
Buddhism, but are relics of their old Turanian nature-
worship. They are believed to injure people unless
propitiated.

NAVY, THE CHINt^SE. Apart from the few men-of-war
of modern type now possessed by the Chinese, there
should be some 2,000 vessels of various kinds constituting
the navy proper. These include junks armed with nets
for catching the enemy’s ships, etc. etc.

NESTORIAN CHRISTIANS. The church which first
introduced Christianity into China, A.D. 631, under the title
of “luminous teaching.” The “Nestorian Tablet,”

with a bilingual inscription in Chinese and Syriac, put up
A.D. 781 and discovered at Si-ngan Fu in the province
of Shensi, A.D. 1625, gives a general idea of the object
and scope of the Christian religion. The genuineness of
this tablet was for many years in dispute, Voltaire, Renan,
and others of lesser fame, regarding it as a pious fraud.
The last hopes of its opponents have now been dispelled

192 A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

by the exhaustive monograph of Pere Havret, S. J.,
entitled La stele de Singan.

NETSUK^^ or NETSZKE : . Small Japanese carved

figures, of wood or ivory, used as buttons for suspending
to the obi or belt the tobacco pouch, pipe, snuff or water
bottle, medicine or seal or brush case, etc. Their use is
said to date from about the middle of the 17th cent.,
when tobacco was first introduced into Japan. Known
colloquially as It

NEWCHWANG or NIUCHUANG: — cow town.

The inland town in the extreme N. E. of China, opened by
the Tientsin Treaty of 1858; but which, from the silting
up of the river, was unfit for trade, and was exchanged
for Ying-tzu ^ ^ five miles from the mouth of the
river. The present port, however, is still called New-
chwang by foreigners.

NEW YEAR, CHINA. Begins on the first day of the
lunation in which the sun enters Pisces, which may be
any date between 22 January and 20 F'ebruary, inclusive.
This is the season chosen for the great annual holiday
of the Chinese. For a month no official documents are
stamped, and to obviate inconvenience blank forms are
previously prepared; but it is obvious that such a rule
could not be strictly adhered to. All accounts have to
be settled up by New Year’s Eve, on which night no
Chinaman goes to bed. On New Year’s Day, absolutely
no work is done from one end of the empire to the
other. Fire-crackers, feasting, and congratulatory visits are
substituted for the ordinary routine of life. See Moon.

NGO-ERH-CH‘IN : The name given to the

Tibetan envoy to China.

NIEH T‘AI. See Judge ^ Provincial.

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193

NIEN-FEI: ^ . Mounted banditti who for several years

committed much havoc in the northern provinces of
China. In 1868 they approached within a few miles of
Tientsin ; and Mr. Burlingame, then proceeding with his
family as Chinese Ambassador to foreign nations, had a
narrow escape from falling into their hands. Said to have
been so called because they wore twisted greased turbans :

A history of the suppression of
this rebellion has been published in Peking entitled

NIGORI : = thickening. A term used by the Japanese

to denote the transformation of a surd (^.^. thi) into a
sonant djii).

NIHONGI. A collection of the national myths, legends,
poetry, and history of Japan, from the earliest times
down to A.D. 697, prepared under official auspices in
A.D. 720, and written in the Chinese language.

NIIGATA: A port in Japan.

NIMBLE LADS. See Chopsticks.

NINGPO: — tranquil waves. One of the five ports

opened by the Nanking Treaty of 1842. Also known to
the Chinese as n m Was occupied by the Portuguese
for purposes of trade so early as 1522.

N INJIN. The Japanese term for Ginsefig (q.v.).

NIPON or NIPHON: H Sun Root. The land where

the sun rises. A Japanese name for Japan, from the
name of the largest island of the group. Was long held
to be a Chinese term for that country, but the balance of
evidence appears to be in favour of its Japanese origin.
“This island, by the way, is generally called Nippon or
“Nihon by foreigners, and no greater mistake can be
“made, as that word in reality denotes the whole territory

194

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

“of Japan What is generally termed Nippon by

“foreigners may be designated as the main island . — ”
Adams.

NIRVANA : Vl or ^ . The summum bonum of the

Buddhists, consisting in (i) separation from life and death,
i.e. from the circle of transmigration; (2) absolute freedom
from passion; and (3) the highest state of spiritual liberty
and bliss. Popularly speaking, “to enter into Nirvana”
corresponds with “going to heaven.”

“The extinction of that sinful grasping condition of
“mind and heart, which would otherwise, according to
“the great mystery of Karma, be the cause of renewed
“individual existence.” Rhys Davids.

“ A condition of total cessation of changes ; of perfect
“rest; of the absence of desire and illusion and sorrow;
“of the total obliteration of everything that goes to
“make up the physical man.” Olcott.

“xAlII that words can convey is that Nirvana is a sublime
“state of conscious rest in omniscience.” Sinnett.

Sir Edwin Arnold in his Light of Asia has given a new
and original view of Nirvana, partly from a conviction
that “a third of mankind would never have been brought
“to believe in blank abstractions, or in Nothingness, as
“the issue and crown of Being.” After due perception
of the Four Truths., safe passage along the Eightfold
Path of doctrine, and through the Four Stages^ viz :
Love of Self, False Faith, Doubt, Hatred, Lust, Love
of Life, Desire for Heaven, Self Praise, Error, and
Pride, — then

As one who stands on yonder snowy horn

Having naught o’er him but the boundless blue,

So, these sins being slain, the man is come
Nirvdna’s verge unto.

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

195

Him the Gods envy from their lower seats •

Him the Three worlds in ruin should not shake ;

All life is lived for him, all deaths are dead ;

Karma will no more make

New houses. Seeing nothing, he gains all;

Foregoing self, the Universe grows “1” ;

If any teach Nirvana is to cease,

Say unto such they lie.

If any teach Nirvana is to live.

Say unto such they err; not knowing this,

Nor what light shines beyond their broken lamps,

Nor lifeless, timeless bliss.

NO. Japanese lyrical plays. They date from the 14th cent.
A.D. and are of religious origin, being used in propitiation
of Shinto gods.

NOBILITY, Five degrees of. These are ^ »
which terms arp roughly rendered — duke, marquis, earl,
viscount, baron. They may be perpetually hereditary; but
the usual custom is that the heir always takes a title
one degree lower down, until extinction, which thus must
occur at most after five generations. The lineal descendant
of Confucius is always a noble of the first rank.

NONYA. The daughter of a Malay mother and a European
father is so called in Java, in imitation of the Spanish
noha^ whence the French noiine and English mm,

NOR or NUR. A Mongol word signifying lake^
Dolon-nor.

NORIMON : A Japanese sedan or palanquin.

NOVELS. First appeared in China under the Mongol
dynasty, 13th cent. A.D. They are ranged by the Chinese
under four heads : —

which deal with usurpation and plotting, as the San

Kuo Chih,

5 ^ „ « w immoralities, as the Chin P"ing Mei.

„ superstition, „ ^ H si Yu Chi.

^ ^ lawless characters, as the Shui Hu.

196 A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

NU-CHEN TARTARS. See Golden Tartars.

NUI TI or NEI TI: ^ — the inner land. China as

opposed to the “outside nations” ; or, in a more

restricted sense, the interior of China as opposed to the
sea-board. Hence nui ti shui “inland duties.”

NULLAH. Correctly nala. A small river, or watercourse.

NUMBA SATU. Used in the Malay peninsula as “numba
one” in pidgin-English, sc. first-rate. A race at the
Singapore meeting is called the “Numba Dua” Cup, i.e.
Number 2 cup.

NUMERALS, THE CHINESE.

Old form.

Common

form

a .

Short form

Lengthened

form

c .

.db:

a . As seen in books.

d . Commonly used for accounts.
Are said to be of Bactrian or

2 .

Phfjenician origin, but are known

3 -

[II

to the Chinese as

4 -

Soo-chow characters, or
= business characters. They are

5 -

written horizontally, except when

I and 2 or 3 come together.

The.se are then written alternately

- 1 -*

vertical and horizontal to prevent

7 -

-b

confusion. Thus, ^ 12,332.15
would be — 11 ^ 1 ) 1 — — the
unit place being indicated by

8 .

9 -

■A

c. Adopted as being less liable
to alteration of any kind, and

10.

-t-

used on drafts, pawn-tickets,
etc., etc.

100.

1000.

.01

10000.

.001

1 00000.

.0001

1000000.

.00001

10000000.

^ or ^

.00000 1

100000000.

.0000001

1000000000.

.0000000 1

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

197

OATHS. Are never administered in Chinese courts of justice
in any shape or form. See Ordeal.

OBANG: — great division. A Japanese gold coin

worth 30 ounces of silver.

OBO : IpP . The sacred cairn, or grave-mound, of the
Lamas. The line of frontier between the Khalka territory
and Russian possessions is marked by such piles, and
the spaces between them are called sabu ^ ^ by the
Mongols.

OCEAN RACE, THE. An annual contest— formerly,
between tea-clippers sailing from Foochow round the Cape-,
afterwards, between steamers from Hankow and Foochow,
passing through the Suez Canal — to be the first to
deliver in London a cargo of the new season’s teas. The
chief interest of the public centred in the race between
the steamers which left Hankow generally about the
beginning of June.

ODES, BOOK OF THE : ^ ^ . One of the Five Classics,
and perhaps the most valued of all by the literati of
China. Is a collection of irregular lyrics in vogue among
the people many centuries before the Christian era, said
to have been collected and arranged, to the number of
3 1 1 , by Confucius himself. Of six of these, however, only
the titles remain, and the whole collection is popularly
known as the Three Hundred. These are subdivided
under 4 heads, namely Ballads, Greater and Lesser
Panegyrics, and Sacrificial Odes. “Have you learned the
Odes?” inquired the Master of his son; and on receiving
an answer in the negative, immediately reminded him
that unless he did so he would be unfit for the society
of intellectual men. Mr. H. J. Allen has recently started
a theory that they are the work of Ssii-ma Chden

198

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

(see History^ Father of), A quotation from the Odes is
however to be found on the Stone Drums fg.'o.J. Translated
into Latin by Lacharme, circa 1733; into English, (i) literally
and (2) metrically, by Dr. Legge, 1871 and 1876. The
following is a specimen : —

The cricket chirrups in the hall,

The year is dying fast;

Now let us hold high festival

Ere the days and months be past.

Yet push not revels to excess
That our fair fame be marred;

Lest pleasures verge to wickedness
Let each be on his guard.

OHAGURO. A dye used by Japanese women for blacking
the teeth at marriage. It is made of iron scraps soaked
in water with a little sake added, and then mixed with
powdered gallnuts.

OHIO or OHYO: . Japanese equivalent of “good

morning!” but used only on meeting a person, and
before 10 a. m.

OK GUE : ^ 3 S . A kind of fig, the seed of which is
used in preparing jelly as isinglass is in Europe.

OKRAS: Are the miniature fruit of the Hibiscus

esculentus^ much used in various parts of the world
as a vegetable and for thickening soups; especially in
the southern United States, where they are known as
“Gumbo.” The name frequently appears in the Hongkong
market list.

OM MANI PADME HUM OMMANY PEMMINY:
(fig !!^ “jl "IB — “O the jewel in the lotus! Amen;”
or according to Professor Wilson, “Glory to Manipadme!”
A magic formula much used in Mongolia and Tibet as
a charm against evil influences, etc. The primeval six
syllables, as the Lamas (g-v.J say. The only prayer

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

199

known to Tibetans and Mongols; the first words spoken
by every child, the last by every dying man.

‘‘The wanderer murmurs them on his way, the herdsman
beside his cattle, the matron at her household tasks, the
monk in all stages of contemplation. They form at once
a cry of battle and a shout of victory. They are to be
read wherever the Lama church has spread, upon banners,
upon rocks, upon trees, upon walls, upon monuments of
stone, upon household utensils, upon human skulls and
skeletons.” Heeley and Koeppen,

“Ah! Lover! Brother! Guide! Lamp of the Law!

I take my refuge in thy name and thee!

I take my refuge in thy Law of Good !

I take refuge in thy Order! — OM !

The Dew is on the lotus I — Rise, Great Sun !

And lift my leaf and mix me with the wave.

OM MANI PADME HUM, the Sunrise comes!

The Dewdrop slips into the shining Sea!”

Arnold’s Light of Asia.

OMETO FO 0 -MLT‘ 0 -F 0 : N* 5 ^ |£E # . Amitabbha,
i.e. boundless light; or Amida Buddha. The abbreviated
form of na 7 nah amitabbha (q^v.)^ the formula in use among
Chinese Buddhists, equivalent to the Ave of Roman
Catholics. “The very name of Buddha,” says a sacred text,
“if pronounced by a devout heart 1,000 or 5,000 times,
“will effectually dispel all harassing thoughts, all fightings
“within and fears without.” This phrase is frequently
prefixed in conversation to exclamatory sentences ; e.g.
1 ^ ^ 1 ® ^ ^ ^ fl^=“For God’s sake don’t strike

him !” and is often exchanged between guest and host
as the former passes into the house, in which case it
answers somewhat to our Pax vobiscum!

OMI, Mt. : A steep mountain in the province of

Ssuch‘uan, sacred to the worship of Samanta Bhadra

200

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

(see P^u Hsien)^ and famous for a halo, known as the
“Glory of Buddha,” seen from its summit. Only one
European lady, Mrs. A. Little, has so far reached
the top.

“What a number of pilgrims one meets here at certain
“seasons, and from how far they come. Aged women on
“bound feet are to be met trudging up and down these
“torturing steps.” Shanghai Mercury^ 12 July, 1892.

ONI. Devil (Japanese). Used as a name for a dog or cat.

OOLONG: ff — black dragon. A kind of tea.

OONAM. Same as Hunan (q^v.).

OOPAK. Same as Hupei (q^v.).

OPIUM. From the Greek inoq “juice.” It is the dried
juice of the unripe capsules of the Papaver Soniniferum
or Common Poppy, and is known to the Chinese under
the following designations: — ^ (said to be derived
from ^ ^ , itself an imitation of the Arabic name

Afiyun, still used in the Straits’ Settlements) •, ;

±; HI#-.

etc., etc.

It is uncertain when and how opium first became
known in India; but in the Ain-i-Aledari (circa 1590)
the poppy is noticed as a staple crop. In 1773, Warren
Hastings, then Governor of Bengal, assumed, on behalf
of the English East India Company, a monopoly of all
opium produced in Bengal, Behar and Orissa, with certain
allowances of the drug to the French, Danes, and Dutch.

It is acknowledged beyond doubt, that long before the
English had intercourse with China, or had anything to
do with the cultivation of opium, the drug used to be
carried in quantities overland from India by way of
Burma, Yunnan, etc. In A.D. 973 the reigning Emperor

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

201

ordered the preparation of a new Herbarium, and the
poppy was inserted as a cure for dysentery. Later on the
Portuguese trading vessels were in the habit of importing
it into Macao and Canton. The Chinese gradually coming
to relish opium-smoking, which is said to have been
introduced by the eunuch general and traveller,

Cheng Ho, who died in 1431, it took its place as an
article of regular trade. When Bombay passed into the
hands of the British Government, opium continued to be
shipped in small-sized sailing vessels, which used to take
three or four months to perform the voyage to Whampoa.

There are two descriptions of the drug imported from
India, under the denominations respectively of Bengal
and Malwa opium.

Of Bengal opium, the growth is monopolised by the
Indian Government in this way. They advance annually
to the growers, who are named “Ryots,” money for the
cultivation of the poppy, on the distinct understanding
that the produce is to be sold to the Government at a
given rate. The product is then manipulated, formed
into cakes and packed in chests of 40 Balls each, under
Government supervision, brought down to Calcutta, and
a stated quantity offered monthly by public auction at
the upset price of Rs. 450 per chest, being the actual
cost of production. But the competition amongst the
buyers to supply the China markets is so great, that a
chest generally realises about Rs. 1,250, which therefore
leaves a surplus of Rs. 800 per chest for the benefit of
the Indian Government exchequer.

On the other side of India, however, the Government
has nothing whatever to do with the cultivation of the
P^PPy^ C)r with its manipulation. It is grown in native

202

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

States, principally in Malwa and Indore. The Government
levies a tax of Rs. 600 per chest when brought from the
interior for exportation to China, which forms all the
profit or interest of the Government in the trade in Malwa
opium. This is why Bengal opium always turns out of
good and even quality and is never inspected by the
Chinese dealers, the Government ticket which is placed
on each chest being accepted as sufficient guarantee for
the quality of the drug. In Malwa opium there is always
an admixture of qualities whose touch varies from 50 to
75 per cent. It has to undergo a process of boiling and
testing through the pipe before a bargain can be made
with Chinese.

The cultivation of the poppy has of late years increased
all over China, more especially in the province of Sstich'uan,
in the north of Shensi and Honan, and in Manchuria.

The native drug is much adulterated with linseed and
other stuff. Indian opium is confessedly far superior in
every respect to the indigenous, and the Chinese show
their appreciation of it, by paying for it double the price
of the native opium. The comparative quotations are Tls.
500 for a picul of Malwa against Tls. 250 to 300 for
the native product. The touch of native opium is from
50 per cent downwards.

OPIUM WAR. See Lin,

“Reduced to plain words, the principle for which we
“fought in the China War was the right of Great Britain
“to force a peculiar trade upon a foreign people.” yustin
McCarthy.

OPPOSITES. In many of their manners and customs the
Chinese are diametrically opposed to Europeans. For
instance, in China the left hand is the place of honour,

^ GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

203

men keep their hats on in company, use fans, mount
their horses on the off side, begin dinner with fruit and
end it with soup, shake their own hands when meeting
friends, read from right to left down vertical columns,
wear white for mourning, have huge visiting-cards, prevent
criminals from having their hair cut, and regard the
south as the standard point of the compass.

ORANG. The Malay word for man. Commonly used by
foreigners in the Straits when calling to Malay coolies,
etc. Hence the orang-onta7ig,^ or “man of the woods.”

ORDEAL, TRIAL BY. Is often practised in China. That
is, where the statements of two parties are absolutely
conflicting, either may propose the ordeal of swearing
at the City Temple. There is in use a special form of
oath, to be uttered aloud, before the shrine of the god,
in the dim religious light which adds solemnity to the
scene.

ORTHOGRAPHY. A term commonly employed by
foreigners in China to denote the transliteration of Chinese
characters. The orthographies for the Mandarin dialect
are specially perplexing, there being as many as five or
six different systems in vogue among English writers
alone; and thus we have Soo-chow, Su-chow, Su-chou,
and Su-cheu, all representing the two Chinese characters
for the city of many years Morrison’s inaccurate

orthography, with no aspirates marked, supposed to
represent the sounds of the Mandarin dialect as heard
at Nanking, was accepted without protest, except on the
part of Edkins, who tried unsuccessfully to introduce one
of his own. Wade then appeared on the scene with his
elementary handbooks for students of the Court Dialect,
in which many of the old Nanking k' s were turned into

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A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

cK besides other changes, in accordance with the sounds
heard in the city of Peking; and as students of Mandarin
now invariably begin with Wade’s Tzu-erh-chi (q^v.)^ it is
no longer a question which is the best orthography, but
which is in general use and most likely to continue so.
Sir T. Wade’s system may not be the best, and it
certainly is not perfect, no difference being made, for
instance, in the vowel sounds of or and ^ or
though the distinction between them is as clearly defined
as that between the a and o in the French words manger
and plonger. The chief objection to it is that the great
majority of Mandarins use the Nanking sounds; on the
other hand, a slightly modified Pekingese is intelligible
to all. As to names of places, it would be impossible
to make any beneficial change. “Kiu-kiang” must be
always thus spelt, and not altered to the Pekingese
“Chiu-chiang ;” and so with other well-known proper names.
Meanwhile, in view of the great scientific disadvantages
of Wade’s orthography, the Oriental Congress of 1897
appointed a Commission of Chinese scholars to consider
the position and endeavour to construct a new orthography
on lines acceptable to all. This scheme was carried out
and the result presented to the Oriental Congress of
1899, but with no practical result.

OSAKA: A port in Japan.

OUIGOURS UIGOURS: 0 ^ 0 • Descendants

of the Hsiung-nu or Huns, first heard of under the
Northern Wei dynasty, A.D. 389, when they were known
as ^ ^ “high carts” from the vehicles they used. Under
the T‘ang dynasty they were called and were the

ruling race in the regions now known as the Khanates
of Khiva and Bokhara, being the first of the tribes of

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205

Central Asia to have a script of their own which was
based upon the Estrangelo Syriac of the Nestorians.
These characters are now called by the Chinese ^
The latest date at which the Ouigours sent
tribute was 1296, under the Mongol dynasty, about which
period the term seems to have come to mean Mussulmans,
the modern 00. It is the origin of our word “Ogre.”

PADDY: Rice in the husk; from the Malayan Padi.

Also used of rice as it grows in the paddy-fields.

PADDY-BIRD: S The white egret (Egretta modesta).
So called because frequently seen wading in paddy-fields.

PAGODA: ^ — precious ta or pile. Formerly known

as ==Buddha. The Indian toran. A circular

or octagonal building, always of an odd number of
storeys, originally raised over relics of Buddha, bones of
Buddhist saints etc., but now built chiefly in connection
with P'eng-shui (q.v.). At Lo-yang, under the Chin dynasty
(A.D. 350), there were forty-two pagodas, from three to
nine storeys high, richly painted and formed after Indian
models. The word has been derived from the Portuguese
pagao = \^'3X\x\ paganus\ also from the Portuguese pro-
nunciation of the Indian dagoba (q-v.), in addition to
which we commend to our readers a common term in
use among the Chinese themselves, viz : ^ ^ — white

bones tower, pronounced poh-kuh-ta. See Stupa.

“I feel satisfied that we may take it as now established
“that the Chinese pagoda was copied from the Topes of
“the Indus valley and Afghanistan.” W. Simpson.

PAGODA. A small gold coin, used in Madras.

PAGODA ANCHORAGE: The an-

chorage for foreign ships at the port of Foochow, from
which city it is about ten miles distant. Scene of the

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destruction of the Chinese fleet by the French under
Admiral Courbet, 23rd August, 1884. Pagoda Anchorage
and Island are both so called from the existence of a
small pagoda on the latter. The Chinese have named
the island after a star — -y in Capricorn.

PAILOW : An ornamental gateway or arch, put

up in memory of some deceased person of transcendent
loyalty, filial piety, chastity, and similar virtues.

PAKHOI : — north sea. A port on the extreme

southern coast of the Kuang-tung province, opened to
trade by the Chefoo Agreement of 1876.

PAKKA. A Hindi word meaning (i) ripe, cooked, and (2)
genuine, proper. The application of this word in Anglo-
Indian and Anglo-Chinese parlance is practically unlimited.
It is generally understood in the sense of ‘‘real.” Thus,
a pony may be a pakka pony, and a man may be a
pakka fool. (^Cutcha is “raw” or “crude,” and is largely
used in India in antithesis to pakka ; not in use in China).

PALAMPORES : ^ ^ The chintz coverlets used by
the Chinese. From the town of that name in the province
of Guzerat, where these counterpanes are manufactured.

PALANQUIN. A term applied in the Straits’ Settlements
to four-wheeled close carriages. In India it means a litter.

PALMISTRY. Has been practised for centuries by the
Chinese. The T^u shu (see Encyclopaedias) deals fully
with the subject and gives about 80 illustrations of hands,
with all the lines marked and explained. As with us,
good and bad fortunes can be foretold from inspections
of the hands. The Chinese however carry the science to
its logical conclusion, and give a section, with illustrations,
treating of the lines on the sole of the foot.

P‘AN-KU PWAN-KOO. Popularly known as the Chinese

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207

Adam. Is a legendary “Great Architect of the Universe.”
With his death the work of creation began. His breath
became the wind; his voice, the thunder; his left eye,
the sun ; his right eye, the moon ; his blood flowed into
rivers; his hair grew into trees and plants; his flesh
became the soil ; his sweat descended as rain ; while the
parasites which infested his body were the origin of the
human race.

PANSHEN ERDENI : JjS # ^ ^ M — “The Precious
Teacher.” The spiritual ruler of Tibet; the Dalai Lama
(q.v.) being entrusted with the management of secular
affairs. The two are often spoken ot together as the
Tibetan “pope§.”

PANTHAYS. Mahommedan Chinese who, after a brutal
massacre of 14,000 of their fellow-religionists at Yiin-nan
Fu in 1856, revolted against the yoke of China, and
made an attempt to establish a separate kingdom in the
province of Yiin-nan, with their capital at Ta-li Fu.
Ambassadors were sent to England in 1872, but failed
to interest the British Government in their behalf. On the
15th January, 1873, ^^e brave commander Tu Wen-hsiu
having first swallowed poison, surrendered to
the Chinese, and the rebellion was shortly afterwards
crushed with immense slaughter of the insurgents. The
word Paiithay^ or Pan-si^ is the name by which the
Burmese at Bhamo designate Mahommedans, and has no
connection, as sometimes stated, with the term

itself being quite unknown to the Chinese.

PAO TAH PAU TAH. A pagoda (q,v,),

PAPER: 5^. Was manufactured in China in the first century.
A kind of paper, called ||| ^ ho-ti or ^ ^ po-ti, seems
to have been known in China before the Christian era.

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The invention of paper however is generally credited
to the eunuch-scholar Ts‘ai Lun, who died A.D. 114.
He is said to have manufactured it out of tow, old linen,
fishing-nets, etc. Paper is now chiefly made (i) from
bamboo, by soaking the woody fibre and then rubbing
it to pulp in a mortar, after which it is taken up in
moulds; (2) from the bark of the Broussonetia papyrifcra^
this kind being a tough article used for windows instead
of glass; and (3) from rice straw, being coloured on one side
by hand and used for religious and ceremonial purposes.
Paper which bears any traces of writing should not be
thrown down on the floor to be trodden upon, nor used
for any unworthy purpose, not even to wrap things in,
but should be reverentially burnt. Small crematoria for
this purpose are often built by philanthropic persons in
the streets of towns and elsewhere.

Japanese hand-made papers are divided into two classes.
The so-called ‘‘hansi,” or half paper, is loaded with
about 20 per cent of rice starch; the “minogami” consists
entirely of fibre. Jackets and trousers made of strong
hand-made paper were supplied to the Japanese soldiers
during the late war with China.

Korean hand-made papers are of a yellowish colour,
with a silk-like gloss, and of extraordinary strength. In
purity they are behind the better grades of Chinese papers.

PAPER-BOAT: ^ — passenger boat. A large roomy

boat used on the rivers in the neighbourhood of Swatow
for the conveyance of passengers and of cargoes of
paper — whence the foreign term has been derived.

PAPER MONEY: #. It is supposed that five centuries
and more before Christ the Chinese used pieces of stamped
line as a circulating medium. About 240 B.C. strips of

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209

leather were used in the same way. In 806 A.D. ‘‘flying
money,” which has been identified with a paper currency,
was introduced. From 1 1 54 A.D. paper money became quite
common, and is still in general use all over China, notes being
issued in some places for amounts less even than a shilling.

PAPICO: Q IS ^ — white stern. A small junk, of the
fishing-boat class, seen at Ningpo and in the Chusan
archipelago. Has a white stern ; hence the Chinese name,
of which papico is an imitation.

PARANG. A large Malay knife for cutting wood; a
snikkersnee. “ . . .whereupon the Mandor (q>v.) drew his
^parang and chased him round the monkey-house, but
“Mr. Murton got away.” — Hongkong Daily Press (from
Straits' Tunes), 22 September, 1877.

PARIAH, (i) PVom the Tamil paraiyan a drummer. (2) A
corruption of the Indian word parnya “strange.” Pariah
dogs, i,e., dogs with no owners, are not uncommon in
large Chinese towns.

The Pariahs of India are men without caste, who
notwithstanding keep up a kind of caste among them-
selves, being quite as jealous of their impurity as Brahmans
are of their purity.

PARSEE or PA RSI. Descendants of the Persians, of which
Parsi is the old form, who left their native country and
settled in India, to avoid Mahommedan persecution. They
are Zoroastrians or Fire Worshippers. Bombay Parsees
are established in business at several of the Treaty Ports,
notably Canton, Amoy, Shanghai, and Poochow, dealing
chiefly in opium. Their complexions having caused them
to be confounded by the Chinese with Moormen (
they are known by the same name, “Whiteheads ^ HS-
See Tower of Siletice.

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PA-T‘U-LU. See Baturu.

PAWN SHOPS. Are common all over China, and are not
infrequently owned by Mandarins. They may be known,
sometimes by their greater height than the surrounding
buildings, always by a huge character (either or
exhibited in some conspicuous place. The interest charged
is 3 per cent per months the pledge to be redeemed
within sixteen months. About half the value of the article
is generally given. Unlicensed pawnshops, ^ , receive
pledges for three months, on more liberal terms, both as
regards the amount of the loan and the interest charged.

PEACH-ORCHARD CONFEDERATION :

A solemn covenant, sworn to in a peach-orchard, between
Liu Pei, Chang Fei, and Kuan Ti that they would

fight side by side and live and die together.

PEACOCK’S FEATHERS. A badge of merit conferred
by the Emperor. The highest grade, or ^ “flowery
feather,” is actually from the peacock’s tail and has either
one, two, or three eyes, according to the merit of the
wearer. The other kind, or ^ — blue feather, or

plume, is from the raven’s tail; but both are equally
known to foreigners under the above name. Introduced
only since the beginning of the present dynasty.

PEACOCK, TO. Slang term for “to call on ladies,” as
implying a more elegant costume than usual. Brought
to China from India where it is much used ; see yokn
Neville^ vol. i., 246.

PEAR-GARDEN, PUPILS OF THE: The

first two characters form the name of the site of the
Dramatic College founded by the Emperor Hsiian Tsung
of the T‘ang dynasty. The whole is a popular name for
“actors.”

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21 I

PEARL-OYSTER: M Used in ancient times as money,
like cowries. The Chinese character was a picture, under
its old form, of the open shell.

PEARL RIVER: Name of the river at Canton,

said to be so called from the island known to foreigners
as Dutch Folly (q>v.).

PECUL or PICUL: ^ tan or ^ shih. The Chinese
hundred-weight == I 33^/3 lbs. avoirdupois. From the Malay
“pikul,” a load or burden. Coolies are classed, according
to their weight-carrying capabilities, as one-, two-, and
even three-picul men.

PEI-TAI-HO: ^ . Railway station 152 miles from

Tientsin, towards Shan-hai-kuan.

P‘EI WEN YUN FU: A Concordance, or

collection of phrases in the classical, historical, poetical,
and philosophical literatures of China, arranged under
the Rhymes in groups of 2, 3, and 4 characters to
each. It was published in 1711 by order and under the
superintendence of the Emperor K‘ang Hsi, and its iio
thick volumes form one of the most remarkable literary
works of any country or of any age.

PEKING: ii\j ^ — northern capital. Literary name ^ yen.
The Mongol conqueror Kublai Khan first established

his court here. Has been the capital of the empire since
the reign of Yung Lo, the third emperor of the Ming
dynasty, who may be regarded as the founder of the
modern city, which when spoken of in an administrative
sense, is known as )|^ 5 “^ Shun-Pien Fu. Is divided into
the so-called Tartar and Chinese cities, each surrounded
by a wall, the dimensions of the former of which surpass
(except in length) those of the Great Wall itself.

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PEKING GAZETTE: The small official

record, issued daily throughout the year (every other
day during the annual New Year’s festival) at Peking,
and containing the Court movements, lists of promotions,
selected memorials from high officials. Imperial Rescripts,
Edicts, and so on •, but no news of any kind. Is known
to have existed as far back as the T‘ang dynasty, A.D.
6i8 — 907.

PEKOE : 0 % — white hair. A kind of tea, so called
because the leaves are picked very young, with the down
or “hair” on them. From the Cantonese pronunciation
of the above two characters.

PENAL CODE, THE: # . This work contains (i)

the immutable statute laws of the Chinese Empire under
the present Manchu dynasty, derived in great part from
the previous code of the Ming dynasty-, and (2) such
modifications, extensions, and restrictions of these funda-
mental laws as time and circumstances make necessary.
A revised edition is published every five years. Has been
translated into English by Sir G. Staunton.

Sect. 292 : — All persons playing with the fist, with a
stick, or with any weapon, or other means whatsoever,
in such a manner as obviously to be liable by so doing to
kill, and thus killing or wounding some individual, shall
suffer the punishment provided by the law in any ordinary
case of killing or wounding in an affray (viz : death by
strangulation or punishment in proportion to the injuries
inflicted).

All persons who kill or wound others purely by accident,
shall be permitted to redeem themselves from the punish-
ment, by the payment in each case of a fine to the family
of the person deceased or wounded.

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213

By a case of pure accident is understood a case of
which no sufficient warning could have been given, either
directly, by the perceptions of sight and hearing, or
indirectly, by the inferences drawn from judgment and
reflection ; as for instance, when lawfully pursuing or
shooting wild animals; when for some purpose throwing
a brick or a tile, and in either case unexpectedly killing
any person ; when after ascending high places, slipping
and falling down, so as to chance to hurt a comrade
or bystander; when sailing in a ship or other vessel, and
driven involuntarily by the winds; when riding on a horse
or in a carriage, being unable, upon the animals taking
fright, to stopj or to govern them ; or lastly, when several
persons jointly attempt to raise a great weight, the
strength of one of them failing, so that the weight falls
on, and kills or injures his fellow-labourers: — in all these
cases there could have been no previous thought or
intention of doing an injury, and therefore the law permits
such persons to redeem themselves from the punishments,
by a fine to be paid to the family of the deceased or
wounded person. (See Punishments).

PENANG, PULO: — Betel-nut Island. A British

settlement in the Straits of Malacca, founded 1786 and
originally known as Prince of Wales’ Island.

PENANG LAWYER. A large heavy walking-stick with
a big knob, sold at Penang and in the Straits generally.
Said to be so called because: (i) the strength of lawyers
lies in their nobs\ (2) because formerly there was little or
no law in Penang, and people were forced to “take it
into their own hands.” Really layor^ a native name for
the kind of cane of which it is made,

PEN TS‘AO. See Pun ts^ao.

214 A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

PEON. One who serves on foot. A Singapore native
constable.

PEPO-HWAN : ^ ^ — barbarians of the plain. “The

“name Pepo-hwan is applied to all the civilised aborigines
“living near the mountains in the southern part of the
“island (of Formosa). The one name includes a number
“of ancient tribes which were formerly distinct and spoke
“separate dialects. At the present time, however, Chinese
“is the language used by all.” — T. L. Bullock. See
Formosa.

PERAK. “Silver,” a name derived from the large amount
of silvery-looking tin which is found there. Pronounced
Payrah.

PERSIMMON: . The date plum found in great

quantities in China, often called the “China fig-” The
Peking variety is Bunge’s Diospyros Sckz-lse-.^ the persimmon
of South China and of Japan is the Diospyros Kaki.

PESANG. The Malay word for banana.^ in common use
among foreigners in the Straits.

PETITIONS: ^ , Should be written in very small

characters, as a mark of the petitioner’s respect; and
should be handed in in duplicate, one on red paper for the
perusal of the official addressed and to be kept on record,
the other on white paper, to be returned with the reply
written in bold characters at the end and stamped with
the seal of office. Petitions from the people to Mandarins
should have nine columns of characters on every page;
from subordinates to their superior officers, only five.
The following mnemonic line is well known to all scribes
and clerks employed in Chinese Yamens : — 3£. ^

“five for a petition, six for an enclosure, four
for a dispatch.” Petitions are not dated, there being

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE 215

regular days of the month for presentation ; viz, those in
which 3 or 8 occurs. An extra fee will, however, secure
presentation on other days.

PETTICOAT-STRING ROAD: A common

Chinese name for Hongkong, especially in use among the
Hakkas The Cantonese proverb says,

"Decent girls don’t go to Hongkong, nor do respectable
"youths travel by the Fatshan boats;” — the sailors on
the passenger-boats between Canton and Fatshan being a
very disreputable set. The name was originally
Great Queen Street (?), and was corrupted by the native
population to its present form.

PHILIPPINES, THE. See Luzon,

PHCENIX: A fabulous bird, which according to

the Chinese appears only at golden epochs, and has not
been seen since the days of Confucius. It is said to be
the essence of water (purity in the abstract). It feeds
only upon seeds of the bamboo, and drinks only from the
sweetest springs. Its plumage contains the five colours
and its song the five notes.

PHONETICS, THE. That portion of a Chinese character
(q.v.J which guides the reader to its soimd^ though he may
never have seen the character before. E.g. — to

ascend, is the phonetic of a lamp, which is

formed by the addition of fire. Such a portion of a
character, when it has no phonetic value, is called the
primitive. The analysis of Callery gave 1,040 phonetics
and primitives, under one or other of which all Chinese
characters could be arranged; but unfortunately exceptions

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A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

and deviations are so numerous as to render this system
of only comparative value.

PHOONGYE. See Talapoin.

PHRAONG CHOW. See Chow fah.

PICTURE CHOPS. See Chop.

PIDGIN. Business of any kind, from which word the
term pidgin is said to be derived, through the Chinese
imitation of our word, i.e.^ business, bizzin, pishin, pidgin.
By others, from the latter half of the Portuguese occupagdo.
Also, from the Hebrew word meaning ransom or redemp-
tion, from a ritual observance still found among pious
Jews; viz., pidjann or the redemption of the first-born
from the priesthood, to which they have been held to be
specially devoted ever since the act of grace by which
the first-born of Israel were spared. This word passed into
the common language, and Jewish merchants in Poland
may even now be heard to ask about the “pidgen,” i.e.
business; and as Polish Jews emigrated in large numbers
to England it is believed that they may have carried this
slang term with them. A further etymology has been
suggested in the Sanskrit plche.^ to pursue.

Commonly used as an affix — amah-pidgin, coolie-pidgin,
etc. Any servant called upon to perform another’s work
will reply “no belong my pidgin.”

“A second man had to be flogged, and a different
“officer had to flog him. This second officer’s physique
“was not by any means equal to that of the first, and
“the blows came down with far less force. He was
“consequently voted not up to his pidgin.”- — Hongkong
Daily Press., 4 Oct. 1877.

PIDGIN-CHINESE. The Chinese spoken by foreigners
who have not the gift of tongues, and persist in arranging

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217

their sentences according to the idiom of their native land.
See Coolie- Chinese.

PIDGIN-ENGLISH : fS or Macao talk. The lingua

franca of China, used by foreigners of all nationalities
who do not talk Chinese in speaking to native servants,
shop-keepers, chair-coolies, sailors, etc. Also frequently
spoken to each other by Chinamen of different parts of
the Empire, whose dialects are mutually unfamiliar and
who do not understand their own common medium,
Mandarin. The following is a specimen, by an anonymous
author, of a celebrated English poem translated into this
strange jargon.

EXCELSIOR!

That nightey time begin chop-chop,

One young man walkey — no can stop.
Maskee snow! maskee ice!

He carry flag wid chop so nice —

Topside-galow !

He too muchey sorry, one piecey eye
Looksee sharp — so — all same my.

Him talkey largey, talkey strong.

Too muchey curio — all same gong —

Topside-galow!

Inside that house he look-see light,

And every room got fire all right,

He look-see plenty ice more high,

Inside he mouth he plenty cry —

Topside-galow!

Olo man talkey “no can walk!

“By’mby rain come — welly dark,

“Have got water, welly wide.”

“Maskee! My wantchey go topside.”

Topside-galow!

“Man-man!” one girley talkey he;

“What for you go topside look-see?”

And one time more he plenty cry,

But all time walkey plenty high.

Topside-galow!

“Take care that spoil’um tree, young man.
“Take care that ice! He want man-man!”
That coolie chin-chin he good night,

He talkey “My can go all right.”

Topside-galow !

Joss-pidgin man he soon begin,
Morning-time that Joss chin-chin ;

He no man see — he plenty fear,

Cos some man talkey — he can hear!

Topside galow !

That young man die, one large dog see,
Too muchey bobbery findey he;

He hand belong colo — all same ice.

Have got that flag, with chop so nice.

Topside-galow !

Moral

You too muchey laugh! What for sing?

I think-so you no savey what thing!
Supposey you no b’long clever inside,
More better you go walk topside!

Topside-galow!

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There is also —

My name belong Norval; topside that Grampian hill
My father catchee chow-chow pay he sheep — etc.

The following is a good prose specimen of pidgin-
English as actually spoken in China. It is supposed to
be from the pen of a Nai-ma, or Chinese wet-nurse,
disappointed that the colours were not trooped as usual
on the Queen’s birthday.

QUEEN^S BIRTHDAY.

Sir, — Long time my have stop Hongkong side, any
year Queen’s bursday have got that soldier man play-
pidgin City Hall overside. My chin-chin you duly talkee
my what for this year no got — no have got largee lain!
How fashion ? Some flen talkee my that soldier man
b’long alia same olo man — two time one day he no can —
some man talkee that soldier man taipan he more likee
walkee that horse go topside sleep ! Spose b’long due
talkee my so fashion no likee. Too spensee my have
catchee that seelick jacket, that bangle, that diamond
ling, alio that thing. Tluly too muchee trub — long time
stop that side waitee, no man talkee my no got.

Spose soldier man b’long so fashion no can take care
people that smallo pidgin, more better my chop-chop go
Macao — that side have got plenty number one soldier
man — no got fear.

My too muchee no likee that foolo pidgin just now
Hongkong any dm have got. Chin-chin.

Naai Ma.

Hongkong, 27th May, 1878.

PIDGIN-JAPANESE. A species of hybrid, ungrammatical
Japanese, spoken by foreigners who do not learn the

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219

language accurately; e.g, Omi taksan pompom bobbery^
watarksi pu 7 nguts : “If you continue to make so much
“noise in hammering those nails into that wall, I shall be
“reluctantly compelled to correct you by the administra-
“tion of severe corporal chastisement.” Here pompom
bobbery = noise made by hammering nails into a wall.

PIGEON. Incorrect form of Pidgin. Pigeon-English (sic) is
defined by Dr. Brewer as “a conglomeration of English
“and Portuguese words, wrapped in a Chinese idiom, in
“which the European dealers ‘pigeon’ or try to over-
“ reach the merchants of the Flowery Empire.”

PIGGI. Pidgin-Japanese equivalent for wailo “go away!”

PIGTAIL. See Cue.

“PILLAR” DOLLAR: The Spanish Carolus dollar

is so called from the design on the reverse — the two
pillars of Hercules,^ joined by a scroll inscribed with the
legend Ne plus ultra “nothing beyond,” and supporting
the arms and crown of Spain. Known to the Chinese, in
common with many other foreign coins, as “devil’s

head” money, from the royal head on the obverse.
Dollars of Carolus IV. are called 01 “the four kung)^
the old way of writing IV., viz. IIIL, being mistaken
by the Chinese for their own character JC labour four
times repeated.

PILLOW- WORD or Makura-Kotoba. A conventional epithet
of 5 syllables, introduced ready-made (cf. phrases faites)
into Japanese poems, usually at the beginning of a line,
and so forming as it were a pillow on which the
poem rests.

P‘ING-YANG: A place in Korea, north of the

I The two rocks at the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea were known to the
ancients by this name.

220

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

capital, and scene of a great victory by the Japanese
over the Chinese on 15 September, 1894.

PIONEER of COMMERCE. The late T. T. Cooper has
been frequently so called, from his book “Travels of a
P. of C. in Pig-tail and Petticoats.”

PIVOT-WORD. A word or part of a word used by Japanese
poets in two senses, i.e, in one sense with what precedes
and in another sense with what follows. It is the “sandwich”
boat of poetry, rowing in both the first and second
divisions, and so belonging absolutely to neither.

PLANCHETTE: ^ | 5 L • Das been well known in China
for centuries, and is chiefly practised by priests as a means
of extorting money from the credulous. A forked stick,
having a short tooth-like piece projecting at right angles
from the point of bifurcation, is grasped by two men
standing back to back. By simultaneous movement of
the operators the “tooth” is made to describe circles on
a table covered with sand and placed before the shrine
of some god, until inspiration comes, and characters are
traced legibly on the sand, forming an appropriate response
to any question that may have been put.

PLANTAIN : Q . A tropical plant of the genus Musa^
and order Musacece^ which bears a highly nutritious fruit,
nearly akin to the banana.

I long my careless limbs to lay
Under the plantain’s shade.

Waller.

“The banana tree (Musa sapienhim) differs from the
“plantain in having its stalks marked with dark purple
“stripes and spots, and the fruit is shorter and rounder.
“Some botanists, however, consider them as only one
“species.” — Loudon, Encycl. of Gardening.

PLUM CASH. Pidgin-English imitation of “prime cost.”

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221

POCKET SONS. Sons purchased for adoption by childless
Chinese. Similarly, “pocket mother” is generally used of
women who buy girls for prostitution.

POETRY, CHINESE: . For ancient poetry, see the

Odes. In modern versification, all measures from four to
eleven characters in a line are to be found, and poems
varying in length from a couplet to several hundred lines;
but what may be called orthodox poetry, dating from the
beginning of the T‘ang dynasty ( 6 i 8 A.D.), is subject
to the following conditions. Measures of either five or
seven characters to the line, both forms dating from the
2nd cent. B.C., may be employed, and there should
not be more .than sixteen lines; at the great public
examinations the poems handed in by the candidates may
not exceed 1 2 lines in length. There must be rhyme,
i.e. according to the rhymes found in the Odes., though
many of these no longer rhyme to the ear. When five
characters are used all the even lines rhyme; but if seven,
then the first line rhymes too, the rhyming character
being always in the “even” tone. The other tonal
arrangements, the choice of any one of which is optional,
are shown in the annexed tables, the lines to be read
downwards from right to left as in Chinese.

zp:

222

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

iTC

zp:

iTC

A common and useful formula among versifiers is

H i ^ ifir. - ra ^

It may be added that every such Chinese poem should
contain if possible some historical or mythological allusion,
and deal with the elucidation of a single thought.

The output of Chinese poets during their long ages of
civilisation has been enormous, and contrary to generally
received notions, women have been large contributors.
The Wade Library at Cambridge contains among many
other such works the “Poetry of the T‘ang Dynasty,”
comprising no less than 48,900 poems, some of them
being of considerable length. The Emperor Chden Lung
alone published 33,950 poems, mostly short ones, not to
mention a large number which were never printed.

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223

POETRY, JAPANESE. Is distinguished by complete absence
of rhyme, and consists chiefly of short lyrics written in
alternate phrases of 5 and 7 syllables to each. It is
largely indebted to the sister muse in China. See Tanka^
Naga-uta^ Haikai^ and Kioka,

POLYGAMY, in the strict sense of the term, is unknown
in China. A man can legally have but one wife, who
shares in all his honours, present or posthumous. But
if a wife is without issue, the husband is justified in
taking a concubine ; and many rich Chinese do so even
without that justification. The family status, however,
of a concubine is a very different thing from that of
the wife.

The Y^ti-chiao-li makes its hero marry both the heroines ;
but this is the license of a novelist. See Marriage,
POMELO or POMMELO. See Pummelo.

PONGEE : — own loom. A kind of silk, similar to

the Tussore silk of India. The above two characters,
pronounced pun chee,, are commonly seen on pieces of all
kinds of silk, preceded by the name of the house which
guarantees that the silk in question was made on its
“own looms.” Hence our term, now confined to one
particular sort. 2|S ^ home woven or homespun is sometimes
written, but the other phrase is more usual. We cannot
endorse the following; — “The name of the wheel upon
“which the cocoon thread is reeled is $) Pang-chih;
“in Cantonese Pung-ch‘e. This is most likely the origin
“of the word Pongee, in French Pongee P — A, Fauvel\
China Review vol. vi., p. 103.

POO HIEN. See P^u Hsien.

POO-SA or P^U-SA : From the first and third

syllables of Bodhisatva (q^v,). Commonly used in China

224 A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

for all kinds of gods and idols. The eyes of large idols
are sometimes made to move, like those of the Virgin in
Catholic churches, by a very ingenious device. A white
mouse is secreted in a small box inside the head, and
by a simple mechanism the eyes move every time the
little creature runs across its prison.

POOTOO : ^ iXE or ^ ® or ^ ^ or ^ |£E . A sacred
island in the Chusan archipelago, between Shanghai and
Ningpo, where Kwan-yin (g.v.J is said to have resided
for nine years. Inhabited by Buddhist priests, who do
not permit any living thing to be killed upon the island.
Neither are women allowed to live there, nor in fact
any one unconnected with the priesthood.

POO-TUNG: Y® ^ — east of the Poo. The eastern bank
of the Huang-p‘u river at a point opposite the British
Settlement of Shanghai.

POPE, Taoist. See Master of Heaven,

POPE, Tibetan. See Panshen Erdeni.

POPULATION. See Census.

PORCELAIN TOWER, THE : ® . The celebrated

nine-storeyed octagonal pagoda at Nanking, destroyed
by the T‘ai-p‘ing (g-v.) rebels. So called because it
was faced over with variously coloured porcelain bricks,
highly glazed. It was about 200 feet in height, and the
circumference of the lower storey was 1 20 feet, each
face being about 15 feet in breadth. There were 190
steps leading to the top. Bells hung from every corner
of the roof of each storey, and part of the roofing is
said to have been inlaid with gold. Built A.D. 1411 ,
on the site of former structures.

PORT ARTHUR: P. Also known as Port Li, in

honour of Li Hung-chang. A Chinese naval port established

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225

near Chin chou T‘ing in Shingking, and strongly fortified.
Captured by the Japanese under General Oyama, 21
November 1894. Leased to Russia 1898.

PORT HAMILTON: IH. A small island off the

Korean coast, occupied and fortified by England in 1885,
as a possible base of operations against Russia. Evacuated
27 February, 1887.

POSTAL SYSTEM. It has always been possible to send
a letter with comparative safety from one end of China
to the other. In all large towns there are postal hongs
which undertake the job for a small fee, half payable in
advance, the remainder on delivery. Steamer communication
dealt a severjs blow to this business, and now China is
organising a Government Postal Service. Public letter-
writers for the convenience of the uneducated are to be
seen sitting at tables in the streets. A corner burnt off
an envelope intimates that the communication inside is
urgent. Sometimes two and even three corners are
burnt. A feather sticking out of the letter has the same
signification.

POUCHONG: ^ ^ — folded sort. A kind of tea, so called
from the method of packing it. [Cantonese.]

POW:J?t — to run •, to gallop. A native word in use amongst
the foreign racing communities of China.

“The course, especially at the Foochow-road corner,
“is in a miserable condition, and “powing” is only possible
“for the quarter- mile distance .” — Foochozv Herald.

Also used as a substantive; “Come and have a

pow\' and sometimes of a match between two ponies.

PO-YAH or PO-RAH (Bhoo-ra). The Burman term for
pagoda (q.v.). The great Shwe DSgong Pdyah, or Golden
Dagong Pagoda at Rangoon, is 372 feet high, with a

226

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

circumference of 600 feet. The gilt htee or umbrella at
the summit cost about £30,000 in gold and jewels alone.

PRAHU or PRAU. A Malay sea-going vessel, as opposed
to a sampan.

PRAYA. A quay or esplanade. From the Portuguese
praia^ a shore or beach.

PRAYING-WHEEL: si — Mongolian dragon cave.

A machine into which written prayers are thrown in great
numbers and then worked round by the hand. The efficacy
of these churned prayers is the same as if each were
repeated, with the additional advantage of speed.

“Hundreds of Tibetan priests idling away their lives
“turning prayer-cylinders, and reciting the everlasting
“Hung-mani Peh-man Hung (see Om mani padme /mm).
“The prayer cylinders are called Koh-loh, and some of
“them are turned by water-wheels.” — S/ianghai Courier.^
7th Nov., 1877.

PRECIOUS ONES, THE THREE; The Buddhist

Trinity of Buddha, Dharma, and Samgha, or Buddha, the
Law, and the Priesthood, Sanskrit Triratna.

“The philosophical atheistic schools now place D/iarma
“in the first rank as the first person in their trinity
“and explain it as the unconditioned underived entity,
“combining in itself the spiritual and material principles
“of the universe. From Dharma proceeded Buddha by
“emanation, as the creative energy, and produced in
“conjunction with Dharma the third constituent of the
“trinity, viz. Samgha.^ which is the comprehensive summa
“of all actual life or existence. The common people,
“however, know little or nothing of this esoteric view of
“a trinity; they speak of and worship a triaS of images
“which they regard as three different divinities, totally

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227

“ignoring their unity and the fact that the 'three precious
“ones’ they worship are but logical abstractions, — a mere
“philosophical myth.” — Eitel.

The Three Precious Things of Taoism (q.v.) are (i)
Gentle Kindness, (2) Economy, and (3) Humility.

PREFECT. See Chih-fu,

PRESENTS; Are of two kinds:— (i) dry

presents, i.e., money and other valuables, given as bribes
to Mandarins or as douceurs from subordinates to their
superior officers; in the latter case, five times every year,
zn ^ ^ — “on the three festivals and two birthdays,”
the birthdays being those of the Mandarin and his wife.

fresh presents, such as fruit, cakes, and other
eatables. The latter generally consist of eight sorts, and,
where practicable, of two of each sort. A list should
accompany them for the recipient to mark off with a
O such as he wishes to accept. It is not etiquette to
take too many, or too few, or an odd number of sorts.
A gratuity for the sender’s servants should then be
placed in a red envelope marked with “Instead

of tea” at the top, the amount being stated in small
characters at the bottom. This sum is divided among
all the sender’s servants, and is held to represent what
should have been expended in treating those who brought
the presents. An ordinary Chinese visiting-card must
also be sent with the above-mentioned envelope, bearing
the following words: — ^ ^ ^ ^

“ So-and-so has reverently received * * : the rest of the
“pearls declined with thanks.” If none are accepted, in
which case no gratuity is given, the formula is changed
to — or “Received in spirit, the presents

are declined.”

228

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

PRESTER JOHN. The ruler of a tribe in Central Asia
who was converted to Christianity by the Nestorian
missionaries. Said to have been overcome by Genghis
Khan in A.D. 1202, and his skull set in silver as a
trophy. Mentioned by Marco Polo, ch. xcii., as “II Preste
Giovanni.” Our name, sometimes written Presbyter yohn,
is a corruption of the Mongol term “Prestar Khan,” by
which title he was commonly known. Gibbon calls him
“a Khan of the Keraites.” According to the most recent
authorities, this once mythical personage now seems to
be thoroughly identified with Yeh-lii Ta-shih, founder of
the Western Liao dynasty or realm of Karakitai, who,
after his conquest of Eastern and Western Turkestan,
became known by the title of Gur-khan, and had his
capital at Bala Segun. Mr. Parker however has thought
fit to identify him with Chao Yiian-hao (whom he wrongly
calls Yiian-min, mistaking ^ for § ), the founder of the
5 Hsia State. “His second name was ^ ^ Wei-li,
which looks very like William.” China Reviezu^ XIV, p. 342.

PRICKLY HEAT. A severe form of the skin-disease
known as lichen tropicus^ which begins to show itself as
soon as the thermometer rises much above 80° Pahr.
The appearance of prickly heat is said to indicate free
action of the skin, and consequently a good state of
health. Warm water baths, with a few handfuls of bran
thrown in, are sometimes found to allay the irritation *,
but unquestionably the best remedy is a lotion of 1 5 or
20 grains of sulphate of zinc to 4 oz. of water, applied
night and morning to the parts inflamed. “Sponging with
“toilet vinegar and water, or dusting with ordinary toilet
“powder, will probably be found more beneficial than
“anything else.” — Diseases of Anglo-Indians^ by R. Mair.

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229

The Lancet gives the following remedy, declared by Dr. J.
R. Somerville late of Foochow to be very efficacious: —
Sublimed Sulphur 80 per cent.

Magnesia 15 „

Oxide of zinc . . 5 „

“The skin is first to be bathed with warm water and
“a little soap; some of the powder is then placed in a
“saucer, and a squeezed sponge pressed on the powder.
“ A portion of the powder will adhere to the sponge ; this
“is to be rubbed carefully in all the patches of prickly
“heat, and the process is to be repeated morning and
“evening.”

PRINCE OF RUNG, THE: Sixth sop- of the

Emperor Tao Kuang, uncle of the present Emperor, and
for many years Regent and President of the Tsung-li
Yamen (q^v.). Died 30th May, 1898.

PRINTING. Has been extensively practised by the Chinese
since the middle of the iith cent. A.D.; and even as
early as the sixth century the idea of taking impressions
from wooden blocks seems to have arisen, though it was
not widely applied to the production of books until about
A.D. 930 when the Classics were so printed for the first
time. Movable types are said to have been invented by
an alchemist of the iith cent, named Pi Sheng, and
under the Ming dynasty these were made of copper or
lead ; but they have never gained the favour accorded
to block-printing, by which most of the great literary
works of the Chinese have been achieved. The newspapers
of modern times are all printed from movable types, from
6,000 to 7,000 separate characters being required. These
are arranged under the 214 Radicals, and sub-arranged
according to the number of strokes in the non-radical portion.

230

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

“PROMOTION”: 1 ^^^. A favourite game with the
Chinese, played upon a board representing an official
career from the lowest to the highest grade* the element
of chance is represented by the fall of four dice, and the
object of each player is to secure promotion over the
others. Is a useful and agreeable means of acquiring
familiarity with the value of Chinese official ranks.
PROTESTANT MISSIONARIES. In 1799 the English
Baptist Mission sent out the Rev. J. Marshman, who
published at Serampore, 1807, “The Works of Confucius,
containing the original text, with a translation.” Then
followed the Rev. Robert Morrison of the London Mission,
1807, author of the first Chinese-English and English-
Chinese Dictionary, and also of a translation of the Bible •
the Rev. W. Milne of the same, 1813, translator of the
Sacred Edict; and the Rev. W. H. Medhurst of the same,
1817, lexicographer, translator of the “Shoo King,” etc.
Among other eminent Missionaries are the Rev. E. C.
Bridgman, American Board’s Mission, 1830; the Rev.
J. Legge, London Mission, 1840; Miss Lydia Fay, Am.
P. E. Mission, 1850; the Rt. Rev. Bishop Moule, Church
Miss. Soc., 1858; the Rev. J. Edkins, London Mission,
1861 ; and Miss A. M. Fielde, Am. Bapt. Mission, 1866.

The Protestant faith is known to the Chinese as mmm
the Jesus Teaching (see Roman Catholic Missionaries).

PROVERBS: Are so numerous in Chinese as to

be quite a feature of the language. Many of the most
original have found their way into Japanese literature
and have often been quoted as the product of Japan.
The following are a few specimens: —

If you bow at all, bow low.

A man thinks he knows, but a woman knows better.

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

231

No medicine is as good as a middling doctor.

A bottle-nosed man may be a teetotaller, but no one
will believe it.

An idol-maker does not worship the gods: he knows
what stuff they are made of.

Half an orange tastes as sweet as a whole one.

Free-sitters at the play always grumble most.

Our own compositions, but other men’s wives.

Gold is tested by fire, man by gold.
PSALMANAZAR, GEORGE. A literary impostor who
lived in the 1 7th cent, and published a fabulous history
of the Island of Formosa, together with a complete and
rather complex language entirely made up by himself.
Becoming a prey to religious fears, he put an end to his
impostures and retired into private life.

P'U HSIEN: ^ Samanta Bhadra, a farnous Bodhisatva,
worshipped in China as the god of action, and popularly
depicted as riding on an elephant which symbolises care,
caution, gentleness, and dignity. His seat of worship is
at Mt. Omi in Ssuch^uan.

PUCKA PUKKA. See Pakka.

PUCKEROW, TO. Slang term, common in India and
China, signifying to appropriate other people’s property.
Corruption of the Hindi verb pakro to catch hold.

PUGGREE. A sash worn round the hat, generally with
its ends falling over the back of the neck, to prevent
sunstroke. It is a Hindi word meaning turban \ correctly
written pagri.

PULO. The Malay word for island^ eg.^ Pulo Nias, Pulo
Penang, and Pulo Percha, which is the Malay name for
Sumatra, whence our word guttapercha^ or the gutta of
Sumatra. It is not uncommon, however, to find this word

232 A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

considered as part of the name; e.^.^ “the island of Pulo
Condor.” Chambers Encyclopcedia,

PUMMELO: ^ or Citrus decumana^ L. A species of
“shaddock,” so called because introduced into the West
Indies by a Captain Shaddock. Also known as the
pampelmoose^ and sometimes spoken of as the Forbidden
Fruit. Is mentioned in the Shoo King : ^ ^ IS

“the bundles contained small oranges and pummeloes.”
Etymology unknown.

PUNCH and JUDY: A popular amusement in

China, said to have originated from a strategic ruse
adopted by the Emperor Kao Tsu, B.C. 206, in which
a number of movable puppets were exhibited upon the
wall of a city and thus aided the besieged monarch in
effecting his escape.

PUNCH-HAUS (Dutch). First applied by the natives, and
afterwards by the foreign residents, to hotels at Singapore.

PUNGHULU. The headman of a Malay village.

PUNGTARAI SEEDS: The fruit of a tree

found in Cambodia, and eaten as a delicacy by the
Chinese.

PUNISHMENTS. Those recognised by the Chinese Penal
Code (q.v.) are (i) flogging on the thighs with a flat
piece of bamboo; (2) exposure in a heavy wooden collar,
called a cangue ; (3) banishment for a given time or
permanently to a given distance ; and (4) death by
strangulation, decapitation, or the so-called “lingering
death.” See Ling Che.

PUNJUM. Inferior silk made from the outside layer of the
cocoon. From the Indian name for a kind of raw silk.

PUNKAH. A Hindi word (pankha) meaning “a fan.”
Introduced into China by Europeans, and now known to

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

233

the Chinese as “wind fan,” but rarely seen even

in the wealthiest native establishments, where servants
with large feather fans still continue to perform this
function at their master’s dinner-table. For the afternoon
nap, small slave-girls are often employed in a similar way.

'^Punkah says that in its own country it is pulled by a
“string, and is used to ventilate a room.” — The Pioneer.

“The Pankha, or large common fan, is a leaf of the
Cory p ha umbraculifera^ with the petiole cut to the length
“of about five feet, pared round the edges and painted
“to look pretty. It is waved by the servant standing
“behind a chair.” — R. F, Burton.

PUN-TS‘AO: g. The Chinese Materia Medica,

sometimes called The Herbal^ an extensive work in many
volumes on botany, natural history, etc. It is the work
of Li Shih-chen, who completed his task in 1578 after
26 years’ labour. No less than 1892 species are dealt
with, arranged under 62 classes in 16 divisions, and 8160
prescriptions are given in connection with the various
entries.

PUNTI : ^ Jtb — of the soil. Native as opposed to foreign*,
the Chinese of the Kuang-tung province as distinguished
from immigrant Chinese (see Hakkas) from other provinces.
Local, as applied to dialects, etc.; e.g., “with the Punti
and Mandarin pronunciations.”

PURGATORY. See Chamber of Horrors and Devils.

PUSAN. See Fusan.

PUTCHUCK: The root of a species of thistle found

in Cashmere. Used by the Chinese as a medicine and
also in the preparation of incense. Putchuck is the term
in use at Calcutta.

PWANKU. See P^an Ku

234 A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

PYJAMAS. Large baggy trousers made of flannel, silk,
or cotton, and worn at night with a jacket called a
“sleep-shirt” by residents all over the East. From the
Hindi pue leg and ja77ta clothing. Also known in Indian
as “pyjands.”

PYLONG: A— a bad man. A pirate, or any desperado.

From the Amoy pronunciation of the above characters —
phai lang or p''ai lang.

Another, but less likely, etymology is IfVM pa lung,
a kind of boat used by river pirates.

QUA as a suffix. See Howqua,

QUANGFOUTCHEE. See Confucius.

QUASSA. See Kwasha.

QUEEN OF HEAVEN: % The guardian divinity of
sailors, formerly a young lady named Lin, of the
Fuhkien province. Temples and small joss-houses in honour
of this goddess may be seen at short intervals along all
the lines of water communication throughout the empire.

QUELPAERT or QUELPART: P old name
A large island to the south of the Korean peninsula.
QUELUNG. See Kelung.

QUEMOY : ^ — golden gate. A small island to the

E. of the island of Amoy.

QUI HYES. Bengal Englishmen are so called, from the
term “qui hye!” (correctly “koi hai!”) used in calling
servants.

QUINSAL See Kinsay.

QUINTAL. The Spanish hundred-weight, as used in the
Philippine Islands.

QUOC-NGU. A system of transcription of Annamite in
Roman letters, devised by the French missionaries.
RADICAL DETERMINATIVE. That part of a Chinese

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE 235

character which often gives a clue to its meanings has
been thus named by foreigners. It is under these radicals,
or keys, that most native dictionaries have been arranged*
all characters having the same radical being put together,
and then sub-divided according to the number of strokes
in the remaining part or phonetic (q.v.). Originally 540,
the radicals were subsequently reduced to 214, the number
in K‘ang Hsi’s (q.v.) lexicon. For example, ^ teng is
“to ascend-” put the radical j/C huo “fire” by . its side,
thus and the meaning is “lamp,” the sound and tone
(q.v.) remaining unchanged. Substitute § 7 fiu “eye” for
“fire,” thus and we have teng “to stare at;” but

though the sound is still unchanged, the tone is altered
from I St to 4th, a difference which an ordinarily cultivated
ear detects at once.

RADZA-WINS. The historical works of the Burmans.

RAGS. The slang term in China for piece goods. “There
is no silk at Hankow; only tea and ragsJ'

RAJA. A Sanskrit word meaning King,

RAMS, CITY OF: Canton. Five Immortals are

said to have entered this city during the Chou dynasty,
riding on five rams, and each holding an ear of grain.
When they dismounted, the rams were changed into
stone, and may be seen to this day on an altar in the
F^ive Genii shrine. Hence Canton is sometimes called
the City of the Genii, and also the City of Grain.

RATTAN. The common cane is so called. From the
Malay rotan,

RED BOOK, THE: A Chinese civil, military,

and naval list, published quarterly and bound in red, in
which are given the names, standing, etc., of all Government
servants holding actual appointments. Expectant officials

236 A GLOSSAJ^V OF REFERENCE

are not included. Four volumes are devoted to the civil
service, and two to the military. From an analysis of a
recent issue of this work, we learn that, exclusive of
Tartar Generals, there are in the Eighteen Provinces
1757 officials holding seals, of whom 1585 are Chinese,
1 17 Manchus, 23 Mongol Bannermen, and 32 Chinese
Bannermen. See China Review^ vol. vi., p. 137.
RED-CAP MAHOMMEDANS, THE: A

name applied by the Chinese to the Mahommedan Tur-
komans who came from Persia and other countries beyond
the Caspian Sea, and were distinguished by the red fez
caps they wore. See Blue-cap Mahommedayis , “red

caps” must not be confounded with “red heads,”

a name for certain rebels who gave considerable trouble
in the Kwang-tung province during the early part of the
reign of the Emperor Hsien Feng.

RED-EYEBROWS. See Crimson Eyebrows.

REFORM PARTY, THE: An association of

progressive officials, who in 1898 made a strenuous effort,
countenanced by the young Emperor, to reform the
administration of China. They were denounced by a
Censor, and some half dozen were seized and summarily
executed, their leader, K'ang Yu-wei escaping on a British
man-of-war.

REGISTRATION FEE. An annual and highly unpopular
tax of five dollars (one dollar for “artisans and labourers”),
imposed upon all British subjects residing at the Treaty Ports
of China and Japan, under the Order in Council of 1865.

RESCRIPT. See Vermilion Pencil.

RESIDENT. The officer appointed by the Chinese Govern-
ment to reside — e.g. in Tibet, — and look

after Imperial interests.

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

237

RHYMES, THE: See Poetry.

RH M.- Japanese land measure = about 2V2 miles English.

RICE-BIRDS: A species of ortolan, found in

the paddy-fields of southern China, and regarded by
epicures as a very delicate morsel.

RICE-CHRISTIANS. Chinese who become converts to
Christianity solely with a mercenary object in view.

RICE-PAPER: The so-called “paper” used by the

Chinese for pictures and artificial flowers. It is the cellular
tissue of the plant called Aralia papyrifera^ the stems
of which resemble a mass of pith covered by a very thin
epidermis, and are from one to two inches in diameter
and several inches in length. The Chinese workmen apply
the blade of a sharp straight knife to these pith-like
cylinders, and, turning them around dexterously, pare
them from the circumference to the centre, making a rolled
layer of equal thickness throughout. This is unrolled and
weights are placed upon it until it is rendered perfectly
smooth and flat. Sometimes a number are joined together
to increase the size of the sheets.

Also known by the fancy name “Bodhi Crape”

or the crape of Buddha.

RIN. A thin round coin of iron or bronze, with a square hole
in the middle, current in Japan. Value one-tenth of a cent.

RITES, BOOK OF : • See Ching. Contains a number

of rules for the performance of ceremonies and “the
“guidance of individual conduct under a great variety of
“conditions and circumstances.”

RIYO or RIO: ^ — a tael. An ounce of silver (Japanese).
RIYOBU. See Shinto,

ROCO. A Malayan pipe. “About the time it takes to
smoke a roco” = about lo minutes.

238 A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARIES. The first Arch-
bishop of Peking, Jean de Montecorvino, was consecrated
in 1308 and died at Peking in 1330. Among the most
eminent R. C. missionaries are Matteo Ricci, d. 1610;
Adam Schall, d. 1666; Ferdinand Verbiest, d. 1688;
Frangois Gerbillon, d, 1707*, Joseph de Premare, d. 1735;
Joseph de Mailla, d. 1748; Antoine Gaubil, d, 1759;
Joseph Amiot, d. 1793, and others (see Jesuits).

Roman Catholicism, originally styled ^ ^ ^ the Jesus
Association, has been known for the past two centuries
as ^ the Heavenly-Lord Teaching. After alternate

patronage and persecution, it was classed in the Sacred
Edict as a “strange doctrine,” but in 1899 was formally
recognised by Imperial Decree, the Pope being mentioned
as ^ and Bishops receiving equal rank with Viceroys
or Governors of provinces.

ROMANISATION. A term specially reserved for the
transliteration of Chinese characters in religious works,
as distinct from the term Orthography (q^v.) which is of
general application. Portions of the Bible, hymn-books,
etc., have been published in “romanised,” and it is held
that converts learn to read these more easily than
translations into ordinary Chinese characters.

RONIN LONIN: m A — wave man. A samurai (q-'v.)
who for some offence to his superior has been dispossessed
of his estate, revenue, or pay, and dismissed from service.
An outcast or outlaw. [The Chinese character meaning
wave is always used of persons in a bad sense.] The
“Forty-seven Ronin” were the retainers of a certain
Daimio who had tried to slay a brother Daimio, but,
failing in his attempt, was compelled to perform the
hara kiri (q,v.). The “forty-seven” then bound themselves

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239

by an oath to avenge their master’s death, and carried
out the programme by penetrating into the castle of his
old enemy, where, after routing some three hundred
adversaries, they discovered and slew their victim, and
then proceeded to disembowel themselves upon the spot.
Their graves are shewn at Tokio to this day.

In 1861, four officers of the Prince of Mito made
themselves ronin^ and left behind them the following
letter: — “We become lonins now, since the foreigner
“gains more and more influence in the country, unable
“tranquilly to see the ancient law violated; we become
“all four lonins with the intention of compelling the
“foreigner to depart.”

RUNNERS: The unpaid servants at a Chinese

Yamen. They live upon squeezes extorted from all who
are unlucky enough to get entangled in the meshes of the
law; e.g. a warrant being issued against any one, they
will report, on receipt of a bribe, that he has “absconded.”

Another class of “runners” exists at Canton, namely,
rowdies who smuggle ashore opium and other goods from
the river steamers on their arrival from Hongkong. As
soon as the steamer comes alongside the wharf, balls of
the drug, etc., etc., are thrown out by accomplices on
board to these men who are waiting in readiness to
receive them, and who immediately make a bolt through
the crowd with their booty. The converse of this practice
is not unknown — throwing dutiable goods on board a
departing steamer just as she is well clear of the wharf.

SACRED CITY, THE. H'lassa or Lhassa tfe HI , the capital
of Tibet, otherwise known as Budala ^ ^ ^ , from the
hill of that name on which stands the palace of the Dalai
Lama (q.v.j. “The Tibetans having made up their minds

240 A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

‘‘to prevent us going to the Sacred City peaceably. . . —
Shanghai Courier^ Nov. 1877.

SACRED EDICT: Sixteen moral maxims delivered

in the form of an Edict by the Emperor K‘ang Hsi (qrd,)^
and amplified into the form of moral essays under his
son and successor Yung Cheng by over a hundred
picked members of the Han-lin College (q.v.)^ of whose
compositions the sixteen best were selected. These were
further paraphrased into simple colloquial language by
Wang Yu-p‘u ^ an Assistant Salt Commissioner

in Shensi. They are held to contain the very essence
of Chinese ethics, and should be publicly read on the
ist and 15th of every moon in all towns and cities of
the empire. The following two maxims may be taken as
examples : —

No. I. Pay just regard to filial and fratcrmal duties,
in order to give due importance to the relatioiiships of life.
[These relationships are five: — (i) between sovereign and
subject, (2) husband and wife, (3) father and child, (4) elder
and younger brothers, (5) friends.]

No. 7. Get rid of strange doctrines, m order to exalt
the orthodox teaching. [Among the “strange doctrines”
mentioned in the accompanying paraphrase are Taoism,
Buddhism* and Christianity. The orthodox teaching is of
course Confucianism.]

SAGE, THE. A term commonly applied to Confucius.

SAGE, THE MODERN. K‘ang Yu-wei, the Reformer,
has been so called. See Reform Party.

SAIBANSHO: — place of decision. A Japanese

District Magistrate.

SAIHAI. A Japanese field-marshal’s baton.

SAKt or SAKI : V@ . (1) A fermented liquor made from

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241

rice, and largely consumed in Japan. It contains from
II to 17 per cent of alcohol. The masamune brand is
considered to be one of the most choice. (2) A wine
made from white grapes.

Some of the inhabitants of Takasaki in Joshiu met
together in order to see who could succeed in drinking
the most sake. Those who could drink but one sho
(about two imperial quarts) were considered to have
“very poor and unhappy brains” and were not permitted
to enter the ranks of the competitors. Several drank
from two to three sho, but the one who bore away the
prize, namely a roll of silk, was he who succeeded in
putting down ,five sho in the short space of thirty minutes.

SAL TREE: ^ ^ or 5 ^ The tree beneath which

Buddha passed into Nirvana (q.v.)., for which, in China, the
NEsculus Chinensis is substituted . — Hongkong Daily Press.

SALAAM. An Arabic term meaning “Peace be with you!”
The Indian servant brings his master’s “salaam” to a
visitor precisely as a Chinese servant says “can see.”

SALT COMMISSIONER: ^ Jg 1 ^ . The art of extracting
salt from sea-water is referred by the Chinese to a Minister,
named Su Sha Shih, who lived in prehistoric

times. Salt is a Government monopoly in China, and the
Commissioner is a high official charged with the collection
of the revenue accruing therefrom, together with the strict
repression of smuggling, which is however carried on to
a very great extent.

China is divided for purposes of salt administration into
seven main circuits, each of which has its own source of
production. The officials controlling the administration are
as a rule independent of the local authorities. These circuits
or divisions are: (1) Ch‘ang-lu which supplies the

242

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

metropolitan province and the North generally- (2) Ho-
tung which supplies Shensi and part of Honan;

(3) Liang-huai ^ Jrfl , which supplies Anhui, part of
Kiangsu, Kiangsi and Hu-kuang; (4) Liang-cheh ^
which supplies Chehkiang and the greater part of Kiangsu;
(5) Fuhkien, which supplies that province and parts of
the adjoining provinces; (6) Kuang-tung, which supplies
the two Kuang and parts of Kiangsi and Yunnan ; and
(7) Ssuch‘uan, which supplies all the rest of Western China.
The boundaries of each of these circuits are carefully
defined, and salt produced in one circuit is not allowed
to be sold or transported into another, — not, at least,
under ordinary circumstances.

The system of administration is nearly the same in
each of the circuits. The salt is produced in certain
specified places by evaporation and boiling, from sea-water
round the coast, and from brine found in wells and
marshes in Ssuch^uan and Shansi. There is no restriction
on the amount or mode of production, but all the salt
manufactured must be sold at a fixed rate to government
officials, who establish depots near the place of production.
Its distribution is undertaken by the salt merchants, who
are a body of men holding licenses or warrants yin
from the Salt Commissioner, if there is one, or the Viceroy
or Governor who superintends that particular circuit.
The quantity of salt which ought annually to pass into
consumption in each circuit is roughly estimated, and
enough warrants are issued to cover that amount, so
that each warrant is supposed to be used every year.
The warrants are perpetual, that is to say, a warrant once
issued may be used over and over again, may be handed
down from father to son, or may be transferred to a

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243

nominee for value. The possession of one or two salt
warrants thus becomes in some places a valuable asset.

Having purchased and paid for his salt, the merchant
is entitled to convey it to any part of the circuit where
he thinks there is the best demand for it. But he is not
at liberty to sell it direct to the consumer. As he bought
it at a price fixed by the officials, so he must sell it
through an agent of the Salt Administration, which also
fixes the selling price. The merchant having chosen the
place where he wishes his salt to be disposed of, must
enter it at a sort of bonded warehouse which is established
in every town of importance under the charge of a wei~
yuan from the Salt Commissioner’s yamen. The salt is
stored there under the control of the wei-yilan, to await
its turn for sale. For this purpose the merchants’ names
are entered in a book in order of application, and the
salt is strictly disposed of in the same order. The warrants
are handed in at the same time and are retained by the
wei-yuan till the salt they cover is all cleared, upon which
they are handed back and the merchant is at liberty to
try another venture.

Four classes of persons are permitted to deal in salt
without the otherwise necessary license, namely, those over
59, or under 16, blind people or cripples, and old women
without visible means of subsistence. This enables them to
accept a somewhat lower rate than the ordinary shopkeeper.
SALUTES, CHINESE. For the highest officials, three
guns are given as the visitor passes through the entrance
to the yamen, followed, after an almost inappreciable
interval, by three more as the great gates close behind
him. The salute is repeated at his departure. Lower
officials receive only three guns each way.

244

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

SAMADHI. A Buddhist term, signifying a power that
enables its possessor to exercise an active control over
all his faculties and keep them in perfect restraint.
SAMANTA BHADRA. See P^u Hsien.

SAMISEN : ^ jJK — three strings The Japanese guitar,
introduced from the Loochoo Islands in the 1 7 th cent.

SAMLEI : ^ — season fish (Alosa reevesii), A fish of

fine flavour but full of pitch-fork bones. The character
is explained by the Chinese to signify the periodical
appearance of this fish, which enters the rivers in May
and returns to the sea in September. Is caught in great
quantities in the Yang-tsze. An inferior kind is common
at Canton, where it is known as ^ ^ or ^ — not

“ ^ ^ three plow-shares” as Dr. Williams says — and
it is from the Cantonese pronunciation of these characters
that our word is taken.

SAMOVAR, A Russian tea-urn, much used in Mongolia
and Siberia for keeping hot large quantities of the
favourite beverage.

SAMPA. The Chinese sound of the characters H+il three
oars =hong-ho 3 it Also applied to a long shallow

canoe, propelled by paddles and used for smuggling opium.

SAMPAN. A Chinese boat of any kind, short of a junk,
may be so called. From the Malay sampan^ a small boat.
It is written in Chinese or “three planks;” but

also ^ 0, etc.

SAMSENG: — three lives. A term commonly applied

in Singapore to certain roughs or bullies who hang about
processions and sacrificial feasts, and are always ready
for any mischief. They are spoken of in the China Mail
of 6th April 1877 as “fighting men.” The “three lives”
refers originally to the slaughter on various occasions of

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245

a duck, a fowl, and a pig*, but now these rowdies are
called “three-life men” from the recklessness with which
they expose themselves to danger.

SAMSHOO: zn — thrice fired. A general name among
foreigners for Chinese fermented liquors of all kinds, but
specially applied to the ardent spirit known as V@
— spirit that will burn, from its having passed thrice
through the process of distillation. See Grape and Wine,

SAMSHUI: H ;iK ■ A Treaty Port on the West River in
the province of Kuangtung.

SAMURAI: it- A general name for all Japanese entitled
to wear two swords. Now called shizoku (q.v.),

SAN KUO CHIH: History of the Three

Kingdoms or rival States, ^ S/iu^ ^ Wei,^ and ^ Wu,
into which the empire was split up at the conclusion of
the Han dynasty. Upon this History has been founded
a famous historical romance, which describes at great
length the various events of a whole century of strife and
bloodshed, and is a prime favourite with the Chinese people.

SAN TZU CHING. See Trimetrical Classic.

SANCIAN. See Xavier.

SANGI : ^ Japanese “Secretary of State,” there being
one over each of the following departments: — (i) Finance,
(2) P'oreign Relations, (3) Home Administration, (4) War,
(5) Justice, and (6) Opening up new territory.

SANG-KO-LIN-SIN’S FOLLY. The mud wall built during
the war of i860 — 61 to keep off the Allied Forces from the
city of Tientsin by the celebrated Mongol general of that
name who was familiarly known to the

British sailor of the same period as “Sam Collinson.”

SAPAN-WOOD: A wood brought from Siam,

Manila, and elsewhere, and used by the Chinese as a dye.

246 A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

SAPEQUE. The French equivalent of the word cash
(q.v.) as used in China. From sapek^ a coin found in
Tongking and Cochin-China, and equal to about half a
pfennig (Veoo Thaler), or about one-sixth of a South
German kreutzer.

SARONG. Part of the national costume of the Malays,
consisting of an oblong cloth from 2 to 4 feet in width
and about 2 yards in length. The ends are sewn together,
and it is then worn by both sexes as a kind of kilt,
tightened round the waist by certain peculiar twists. It is
invariably of a check pattern, generally in gay colours.
Is either of silk or cotton, or a mixture of the two.
Of cotton sarongs, the most valued come from Celebes,
and are known as Kain Sarong Bugis. Java produces
the painted cotton so much admired by the Malays.
They are called Kaiii Batak. Of silk sarongs, some of
the finest are the Kain Alastoli of Singapore, and the
Kain Sungkit (silk and gold thread) of Penang and
Borneo.

SATBON. Soap; from the Portuguese sabao. This term is
heard among the Chinese in Fuhkien; and in some parts
of India sdbon is the only word used.

SATSU. Same as Kin ’Satz.

SAVVY or SABE. From the Portuguese saber to know.
“My savvy”=“I understand” or “I know.” “That boy
got plenty savvy” =“ That boy is no fool.” See Pidgin
English.

SAYONARA. Goodbye! [Japanese.] Used by foreigners in
Japan much as chin-chin is in China. One event on the
programme of the Yokohama Races is the “Sayonara
Stakes.

SCRATCH-BACK. A small imitation, in either ivory or

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247

bone, of the human hand with the tips of the fingers
slightly bent inwards. This is attached to a slender black
stick, and used by the Chinese for scratching themselves,
being popularly known as a ^ ^ A or "won’t trouble
you,” as with its aid even the most inaccessible parts of
the back are easily reached. Also known in books as
^ ^ the "scratch implement.”

SCREENS: ^ . Movable wooden screens at the entrances

to Chinese houses are used to prevent the ingress of
evil spirits, who are supposed to be able to advance
only in straight lines.

SEAL CHARACTER: Certain elaborate forms

of Chinese writing which prevailed from about B.C. 800
to about A.D. 200, and are known to foreigners as the
Greater and Lesser Seal character. The Chinese employ
both these styles on their seals ^ public and private; hence
our term (see Shuo Wen). The former was invented by
a Historiographer known as ^ Shih Chou, and the
latter, a simplified form of the other, by ^ ^ Ch‘eng
Miao, who followed this up by the invention of the ^
It script, which is again simpler and more easily written
than the Lesser Seal. It was from the li script that the
modern "clerk” style was developed about A.D. 200.

SEALS, MANDARIN. Every Chinese official of any standing
has had a seal of office since the establishment of the
Sung dynasty, A.D. 960. The Imperial signet is called
3 £ ® and is made of jade. That of the First Emperor
(q^v.) bore the following legend : ^ ^ ^ Wc W ^ S

"Dei gratia; may the reign be long and glorious.” The
seals of the highest provincial officials are oblong and
made of silver, and the impression is stamped in a mauve
colour, in the preparation of which no oil is used. These

248 A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

are often torn by the people from proclamations and
such documents, being held to be good for sore places,
ulcers, etc. Officials such as the Salt Commissioner and
Taot^ai have also oblong seals made of copper, all of
which are called mm, but they use vermilion moistened
with oil. Below them come the Prefects and Magistrates
with square seals also red ; below them again are the
petty police magistrates with wooden seals rE ; and
last of all the ti-paos^ also with wooden seals called
. A mandarin’s seal of office is invariably placed in
his wife’s keeping, as very serious consequences, entailing
even dismissal from office, might result from its accidental
loss. All dispatches, title-deeds, and such public documents,
must bear a seal, or they are not accepted as authentic.
During national mourning the colour of the impressions
of all seals is changed to blue.

Every official seal is made with four small feet projecting
from the four corners of its face. Of these, the maker
breaks off one when he hands the seal over to the Board.
Before forwarding to the Viceroy of the province, another
foot is removed by the Board. A third is similarly disposed
of by the Viceroy, and the last by the official for whose
use it is intended. This is to prevent its employment by
any other than the person authorised.

SEAO HAO: A tax levied upon all junks trading

on the coast of the province of Kuang-tung, as a
compromise for their being excused from going to the
provincial city to pay their duties.

SEA-SLUGS. See Bicho-da-mar .

SECRET SOCIETIES. Are common all over China. The
principal one is described under Triad Society
besides which may be mentioned the teetotal Vegetarians

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249

of the north, in which even smoking is prohibited,
the Ko-lao (q.v.)^ the Boxers, and the Golden Orchid
^ (q-'^O <=>!■ anti-matrimonial society of the south,

consisting of girls who have sworn not to marry, and even
of women who have left their husbands and returned to
their parents. All these are equally under the ban of the law.

SECUNNEE, Helmsman. From the Persian through

the Arabic sukkan a helm.

SECURITY CHOPS: Documents guaranteeing

indemnity from loss, usually demanded by foreign merchants
when engaging Chinese compradores or other servants
holding positions of trust. The guarantor who signs such
a document is. responsible only if the principal himself
has been first sued and is unable to pay. If two or more
security-men sign a chop, each is responsible only for
his own share ^ and not for the whole amount. To
make three men each responsible for say Tls. 3,000, the
security-chop should be for Tls. 9,000; or else each man
should be made to sign a separate chop for Tls. 3,000.
Great caution is also necessary in the wording of these
documents.

SEEDEE or SIDI BOYS. A name often applied on board
ships in the China Seas to negro sailors in general, but
really a complimentary term for African Mahommedans,
its meaning being “my lord.” Hence the del of Spanish
history.

SEEN-SANG HSIEN-SHENG : elder born.

Foreigners call their “teachers” of Chinese by this title,
which as an affix to a name is equivalent to our prefix Mr.

SEN: The modern Japanese term for a cent. A Ten-po

sen is a sen coined in the year ^ Ten-po ; a Bun-kiu
sen is of the year ^ Bun-kiu.

250 A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

SENDO: The captain of a vessel (Japanese).

Generally used for sailors and boatmen.

SENG-K‘OI ; ^ ^ — newly-arrived strangers. The Chinese
in Java call themselves, and are generally known, by
this name.

SENYO. The son of a Malay mother and European father
is so called in Java, in imitation of the Spanish senor.
Cf. Nonya.

SEOUL or SOUL. The capital of Korea. Official names
^ or ^ , the latter from its situation on the
river, and ^ ^ ^ Kingkitao or Royal Domain.

SEPOY. An Indian soldier, dressed and drilled in European
style. It is a corrupted form of the Persian word slpahi
“a soldier.” Absurdly explained as ‘^three-legged,” the
third leg being the musket as held when standing at ease.

SERANG. A Persian word (correctly written sarhang)
signifying “commander,” “overseer,” “boatswain,” and
used on the coast of China for the head or foreman of
a crew of Malay sailors, through whom all negotiations
with the crew are conducted. Also sometimes applied to
Malay boarding-house keepers and others, in the sense
of the American “boss.”

SERES. A nation mentioned by Strabo as having first
supplied silk to the ancients, and generally identified
with the Chinese. The word may be compared with the
Tibetan ser and Turki sari meaning “yellow.”

“It seems sufficiently clear that the Seres mentioned by
Horace, and other Latin writers, were not the Chinese.”

Sir yohn Davis.

“The ^ Tsins of modern Chinese are to be identified
“with the Seres of the Greeks and Romans. . . . The
“Seres are first found in history as a tribe of nomads

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251

“who settled along the upper waters of the Wei about
“the ninth century before Christ. . . . They soon contrived
“to expel the decadent Kings of ^ Djow. . . . This force
“of character culminated in King Ching, who bearing
“down all opposition was able to confer on himself the
“title of First Supreme Emperor of Tsin or Ser, B.C.
“221. .. . With the death of his incapable son, the Second
“Emperor, the fabric so laboriously raised fell to the ground-,
“and Ser for the future became a mere geographical
“expression.” T. W. Kingsmill.

SERICANA. An old name for China. See last entry.

But in his way lights on the barren plains

Of Sericana, where Chineses drive

With sails and wind their cany waggons light.

Paradise Lost iii, 437.

“Barren plains” is somewhat a libel on the fertile acres
of China proper-, neither would any one who had ever
seen a heavy Chinese wheel-barrow under sail be likely
to call it a “cany waggon light.”

SEVEN ACCUSATIONS, THE: ^ or -t

The seven causes of hatred against the Mings, published
in the third year of the Manchu chieftain ^ (1618)
in vindication of the war waged against that dynasty,
which resulted in its final overthrow and the establish-
ment of the Manchu power. They comprise charges of
frontier disturbances, violation of territory, breaches of
faith, etc., etc., and will be found in the first chapter of

SEW-TSAI SIU-TS‘AI. See Hsiu-ts'-ai.

SHAKU ; The Japanese foot of lo inches= 1 1^/4 inches
English.

SHAkYAMUNI: ^ JJra jfL Ig,. From Shakya (one who is)
mighty in charity, and muni (one who dwells in) seclusion

252 A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

and silence. The favourite name among the Chinese for
the great founder of Buddhism. See Buddha.

SHAMAN : . A Buddhist monk. Also used of

Brahmans and other ascetics.

SHAMEEN: ® — sand flat. Formerly a mere mudbank

in the river close to the city of Canton, but leased from
the Chinese after the capture of that place in 1857, and
formed into an artificial island with an embankment of
granite all round; the expense of this ($325,000) being
borne by the British and French Governments in the
proportion of four to one, according to which ratio the
whole area was subsequently divided between the two
countries. The one-fifth which forms the French Settlement,
long without buildings of any kind, is 2,850 feet in
length by 959 feet greatest breadth.

Shameen was originally the great rendez-vous of flower-
boats (q.v.)^ and the adjacent quarter of the city was
chiefly occupied by hou.ses of ill fame ; — a fact which
probably did not escape the notice of the Chinese
authorities when the island was conceded to the “outer
barbarians.” Hence the bad sense in which the words
shameen are still used in the colloquial of Canton and its
neigbourhood. Compare Kou-lan hu-t'ung.

SHAN-H AI-KU AN : jJj An important town on the

borders of Chihli and Shingking, near the point where the
Great Wall reaches the sea, and now on the line of rail
which is to connect Tientsin with Newchwang.

SHANGHAI: ± — Upper sea ; as distinguished from

the 7^ or “lower ocean.” So called since A.D. 1079.
Old names ViS ^//u ['^] fishing-stake [estuary], and ^
[l^j the Shen [river] from the name of a man ^ ^ ^
who is said to have made the Huang-p‘u. Shanghai

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253

was in existence under the Hsia dynasty, say fifteen
centuries B.C. It was made a magistracy by Kublai in
A.D. 1279, and was one of the five ports opened by
the Nanking Treaty of 1842. Often called the “Model
Settlement” ii^ allusion to its efficient municipal

administration.

SHANGHAI’S SHAME. A title which has been applied
to the Woosung Bar (q.v.).

SHANG-TE or SHANG TI : ± The Supreme Ruler;
God. This is clearly the meaning of the term in many
passages in the Classics (see Ter 7 n Question).

Also the spirits of deceased Emperors, “empereurs
d’en haut” as* M. Chavannes calls them. Also, according
to Chu Hsi, as stated by Pere Le Gall, S. J., “la vertu
active du ciel materiel.”

The Portuguese orthography is Xang-Ti; to which we
are indebted for the following gem taken from a child’s
Pictorial Alphabet : —

“X is Xang-ti, a god in China believed;

“But he’s mere wood and stone, so they’re sadly
“deceived.”

SHANS, THE. A widely-spread race, occupying the southern
and western portions of Yunnan and the frontier land
beyond, and known to the Chinese as The Shans

of the border-land between Yunnan and Burmah style
themselves ^ . “Shan” is said to be a corruption of
iS ^ Sien-lo.

SHANSI: ill @ 1 — west of the hills. One of the Eighteen
Provinces. Said to be the original home of the Chinese
people. Capital city T‘ai-yuan Fu ^ ^ /fj. Old name
W Chin.

SHANTUNG: — east of the hills. One of the Eighteen

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A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

Provinces. Capital city Chi-{or Tsi-)nan Fu
Old name ^ Lu.

SHARE (pronounced sharry). A Japanese term equivalent
to the French esprit.

SH ASTRAS: Discourses, or the philosophical section

of Buddhist literature.

SHE-LI or SHAY-LEE: ^ f Ij . The Chinese transliteration
of the Sanskrit s arira^ relics, or parts of the body of a
saint, gathered together after cremation and preserved in
Buddhist temples, generally beneath a handsome marble
dagoba (q-v.).

SHEEDZAI : JSff. Cantonese term for a ‘‘boy” (q^'<-'-)
or valet.

SHENSI: 1 ^® — west of the passes. One of the Eighteen
Provinces. The first syllable is written shen to distinguish
it from Shansi, though in Mandarin the two sounds are
identical except in tone (q-v.J. Capital city Hsi-an Fu
(or Si-ngan Fu) ^ ^ . Old name ^ C/i'in.

SHIBAIYA. Japanese theatres; /it. “turf places,” so called
because the first performances were held on grass-plots.

SHIMBUN: 0 r Japanese nev^spapers are so called;
e.g". — Choya Shimbun.

SHIMONOSEKI, TREATY OF. Negotiated between Li
Hung-chang and the Japanese authorities after the defeat
of China by Japan in 1895. terms, the island of

Formosa, the Pescadores, and the Liaotung peninsula,
were ceded to Japan, and an indemnity of Tls. 200,000,000
was exacted. Russia, Germany, and I^rance combined to
prevent the cession of the peninsula.

SHIN: — gods; idols. According to Mr. Kingsmill, “Shin

“represented philologically the Asuri of the older Indian
“pantheon.” See Term Question.

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

255

SHING: A Chinese measure equal to about one pint

English.

The Japanese sho (same character) is equal to nearly
two imperial quarts. See Sake.

SHING-KING: ^ SK ■ The name of the capital city of
the Manchurian province of Feng-t‘ien, but often used
for the province itself. See Moukden.

SHINSHIU. Same as Monto (q^v.).

SHINTO. See Shitoo.

SHIZOKU : ifc^. A Japanese clan. All who bear the
same surname. The vassals of the old feudal system of
Japan. ‘'The shizokti^ who used to be supported with rice
“without cultivating the land, and dressed without working
“a loom, and who drank the valuable sweat and ate the
“flesh of the common labourer, have been deposed from
“their station by the changes of time. Their pensions have
“been decreased through gradual alterations, and have

“at length been converted into Government bonds

“The shizoku s families number more than 500,000

“Nine-tenths of the Government employes consist of
'^shizoku ” — Choya Shimdun., Sept. 1877.

Formerly known as samurai.

SHO. A Japanese musical instrument consisting of 17 pipes
let into a wind-chest.

SHOE FLOWER: The Hibiscus Rosa-sinensis., L.

is so called, because a kind of blacking is made from
its petals.

SHOES (OF SILVER): jt Sf • The common name among
foreigners for the Chinese silver ingot which bears some
resemblance to a native shoe. May be of any weight from
1 oz., and even less, to 50 and sometimes 100 oz. ; and
is always stamped by the assayer and banker in evidence

256

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

of purity. Tiny shoes are made for sale to Europeans as
charms for the watch-chain. See Sycee.

SHOGUN SHIOGOON: Commander-in-chief.

Same as Tycoon (q.v.)^ and known to the Chinese as
Military Ruler. The last Shogun resigned power
in 1868, and retired into private life under the name of
Ichido. See Mikado.

SHOO KING: — the Book of History. This work

embraces a period extending from the middle of the 24th
century B.C. to B.C. 721. It is said to have been edited
by Confucius himself from then existing documents which
came into his hands. See Ching.

SHO-RO-DO: A drum tower (Japanese).

SHO-SAKAN: The old term for Japanese Govern-

ment clerks of the 2nd grade; now changed to Ni-to-zoku

(Zl ^ ^).

SHOW or SHOU : ^ — old age. The character commonly
seen, under its seal (q-v.) form, thus on Chinese
saucers, vases, doors, windows, fans, shoes, and any
available object. Compare Fu. Old age and offspring are
to a Chinaman the highest of earthly blessings, ranking
far above power, fame, or even wealth.

SHRIMP BOATS: Fast-sailing boats with two

masts, now chiefly used by Hongkong pilots, but formerly
employed by Chinese engaged in the kidnapping trade
round Macao. Sometimes called ha-t'eng ^ •

SHROFF : ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ — silver expert; a corruption

of the Arabic sarrdf “banker,” common in every Indian
town. Chinese employed at banks and large mercantile
establishments to check all dollars which pass through the
hands of the firm, and eliminate the bad ones. These
men pretend to distinguish three classes of good dollars.

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE 257

of first, second, and third qualities; but this “mystery”
of the art has been exposed over and over again by
their rejection of certain dollars as first class which
had been paid out as such perhaps on the previous
day. Shroffing schools are common in Canton, where
teachers of the art keep bad dollars for the purpose of
exercising their pupils; and several works on the subject
have been published there, with numerous illustrations of
dollars and various other foreign coins, the methods of
scooping out silver and filling up with copper or lead,
comparisons between genuine and counterfeit dollars,
the difference between native and foreign milling, etc.
etc. The best of these is the 0 r ^ ^ • — See “The
Shroff’s Mystery,” China Review^ vol. Ill, p. i ; and
Pillar Dollar.

“Shroffing” is now applied metaphorically to persons.
A Shanghai preacher once said in the pulpit, “God will
shroff you, as you shroff dollars.”

SHU: A Japanese coin equal to one-fourth of a bu.

No longer in circulation.

SHUN CFdlH: lip — favourable sway. The style of reign

adopted by the first actual Emperor of the present dynasty,
A.D. 1644 — 1662.

SHUN-NING FU: A Treaty Port in the province

of Yunnan, on the road to Bhamo.

SHUN-PAO or SHEN-PAO: ^ ^ — Shanghai announce-
ments ; being a name for the Shanghai district. A

Chinese newspaper published in Shanghai, at first under the
editorship of Mr. E. Major. The title-character # used
at one time to be fancifully written, in the style called

Ite , with a stroke too much, presumably because some

258 A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

celebrated calligraphist took it into his head to form it
in that way. Only the other day we saw PA for , and
^ for A , there being in each case an authority for
such variation.

SHUO WEN: gft The celebrated dictionary of the Lesser
Seal (q>v,) character, published A.D. loo by gf Hsli
Shen. It is a collection of all the Chinese characters then
in existence, amounting to about 10,000, analysed by
the author into their original picture elements, with a
view of showing the hieroglyphic origin of the Chinese
language. It was the first lexicon arranged according
to radicals (q-v.)^ for which purpose 540 were called
into use. For a Key to this work, by means of which
characters may readily be found, see China Review^ V,
P- 304-

The following table shews some of the few characters
wherein any resemblance may be traced to the objects
meant to be expressed : —

Shuo Wen.

Modern.

0 -

yf/2.

the sun.

^ -

skan.,

hills.

\f -

mouth.

« -

niao.,

bird.

mu.^

eye.

F -

tso.,

left hand.

^ —

yu.

right hand.

>K -

mu.^

tree.

Unfortunately we are soon at the end of these compara-
tively simple hieroglyphs and have to fall back upon
more far-fetched specimens, such as —

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

259

- M

yue/i.

moon.

- m

cart.

- ^

shui^

water.

- 'X

huo^

fire.

- ^

niu^

ox.

- #

ching^

a well.

- E

a Minister.

- A

jen^

man.

- A

clLiian^

a dog.

The explanations given by the author of the Shuo Wen
of many of these characters are worth noting ; for instance,
where he shews in ^ a tree that the upper curve denotes
the branches," the lower curve the roots; that ^ is like
an ox’s head because it has a curve which would do for
the horns ; that the dot in the middle of a well is
the cover; and that ^ admirably represents the befiding
body of an officer of state in the presence of his Imperial
master. So in the last instance, where he mentions that
Confucius says “to look on the character for dog is like
looking on a picture.”

SHUPAN ; The Chinese term for the copying

clerks employed at Yamens and other public buildings.
Is in use at the offices of the Imperial Maritime Customs,
to express the Chinese employes whose business it is to
copy Chinese documents, as opposed to the linguists (^^.27 .y)
who speak and write English.

SICA WEI or SI-K A-W'EI : ^ ^ ^ . A place near Shanghai
where there is now a Roman Catholic establishment, named
after the celebrated statesman and scholar a.d.

1562 — 1633, who was formerly a supporter of the Catholic
Missionaries at Peking. The last character is sometimes
written @ . The Jesuit Fathers who reside there and

26 o

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

elsewhere in China, have recently been translating and
compiling many valuable works giving accurate information
on a variety of subjects connected with China, thereby
recalling the glories of their illustrious predecessors of
the 17 th and i8th centuries.

SIEN PI. See Hsien Pi.

SILK. Was manufactured in China many centuries before
the Christian era. Mencius (q.v.) said, “At fifty, no
warmth without silk; at seventy, no satiety without meat.”
First introduced into Europe as a manufacture under
Justinian in the sixth century; found its way into Sicily in
the twelfth century, and was carried thence by the Saracens
into Spain. P'rancis I. planted it at Lyons in the sixteenth
century, and in 1585 it reached England from Antwerp.

Chinese silks are many of them rudely manufactured of
thread, coarse and unequal, devoid of gloss, and deficient in
either “tram” or “organzine,” the fabrics being simply woven
from the raw material as it comes reeled off the cocoons.
Japan supplies a much more serviceable article, and conse-
quently Japanese silks are now very considerably in vogue.
SILKEN CORD, THE. See Gold, Swallowing.

SINGAPORE. Of this name two etymologies are given,
the first being the correct one. (i) Singgha to call at,
and poorah a place — port of call; (2) Singa a lion, and
poorah residence — abode of the Lion ; so called because
a prince of Palimbang (Sumatra) is said to have seen a
lion at this spot and to have built a city in honour of
the royal beast. Pore or pur is the Sanskrit for “town”
or “city,” and is a common termination in India; e.g.
Cawnpore, the city of the Khan. The city was founded
and named by Sir Stamford Raffles with the name by
which the island had been known for many centuries.

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261

SING-SONG. The pidgin-English term for Chinese thea-
tricals, which consist chiefly of recitative.

SINK OF INIQUITY. Shanghai; see Model Settlement.

SINKEH: ^ — new arrivals. Immigrant Chinese are so

called in the Straits. They are much looked down upon
by the Babas, or Straits-born Chinese, who are very
proud of their nationality as British subjects.

SINIM, THE LAND OF, or more correctly “of the Sinim.”
It is only a conjecture that by this term, used in Isaiah
xlix. 12, is meant China; such conjecture being founded
on a resemblance of the first syllable Sin to the name
of the Chinese feudal State TsHn ^ on the north-west
of the empire*, the existence of which dates back as far
as B.C. 847. Moreover, Ts‘in appears to have been the
name under which China was commonly known throughout
southern Asia about that epoch.

SINOLOGUE. An advanced scholar of the Chinese language,
literature, etc. From the Latin Sinae, called by Ptolemy
the most eastern nation of the world. These people were
said to dwell beyond the river Meinam (Serus), and were
probably Cochin-Chinese. It has recently been objected
that the word S. wears a French dress, and that to
preserve uniformity, English people should say “Sinologist;”
but it is highly improbable that such a change will ever
be successfully introduced.

SINTOO or SHINTO: The ancient religion of

Japan, i.e., worship of the Kami, or gods and spirits of
all kinds. Usually spoken of by the Japanese as Kami
no micki, the way of the gods. Was universal in Japan
in the sixth century when the Buddhist propagandists
arrived, and at the restoration of the Mikado in 1868
became again the state religion. There exists (i) Pure

262

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

Shinto, and (2) Riyobu, or Twofold Shinto, which latter
contains an admixture of Buddhism. This compromise
was suggested in the ninth century by a clever priest
who declared that the Shinto gods were but Japanese
manifestations of Buddha. Later on, even Confucian
doctrines were blended with Riyobu Shinto.

The characteristics of Pure Shinto are the absence of an
ethical and doctrinal code, of idol-worship, of priestcraft,
and of any teachings concerning a future state. There
are about 14,000 gods, the chief of which is Amaterasu,
the sun, first-born of Izanagi and Izanami, the original
creative principles (see Yin and Yang). Each village has
its special god and miya or shrine. The temples contain no
images etc., but only a steel mirror and a few other trifles.

SIX DOMESTIC ANIMALS. The horse, ox, sheep or
goat, fowl, dog, and pig.

SLAVERY in China is now chiefly confined to the purchase
of girls for use as servants in large establishments. These
girls are on the whole well treated; and when they reach
a marriageable age, their owners are bound by custom
to see that they are suitably married and started in life
on their own account.

According to the Penal Code, no man may sell his
children without their consent ; but there is no doubt that
this law is not very stringently enforced.

SLEEP AND THE AWAKENING, THE: : 5 t® # 14 -
Title of an article by the late Marquis Tseng, Minister
to Great Britain, in which he strove to show that China
had been dozing for centuries but would now awake and
take a leading part in the world’s affairs. See Asiatic
Quarterly, January, 1887.

SLEEVE DOGS; Q Tiny dogs, usually of the

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

263

Peking lap-dog breed ^ lion dog)^ small enough

to be carried in the wide sleeves of a Chinese gentleman’s
or lady’s dress.

The Chinese classics are often printed in what are called
sleeve editions^ i.e.^ in 3 2 mo., for the use of dishonest
candidates at the public examinations.

SLIPPER-BOAT: ^ ^ ma-leng t'^eng. A small covered

passenger-boat, very sharp-pointed at the bow, used at
Canton, and somewhat resembling a Chinese slipper.

The story goes that when an application was made to the
Emperor for a boat design, the Empress, who was sitting by,
kicked off her slipper and bade the petitioners take that.

SMALL P'EETi'/J^ Poetical name “ Golden lilies”

The practice among Chinese women of cramping the feet
is said by some to have originated about A.D. 970 with
Yao Niang, concubine of the pretender ^ iIvS
Li Yii, who was overthrown at Nanking previous to the
establishment of the Sung dynasty. The lady wished to
make her feet like the “new moon.” Others assert that
the custom was introduced by P‘an Fei, the favourite

concubine of the last monarch of the ^ Ch‘i dynasty,
A.D. 501. Well-cramped feet are considered a great
beauty by the Chinese; there seems to be no foundation
for the generally received opinion that their object in
thus laming the women was to keep them from gadding
about. The Manchu or Tartar ladies have not adopted
this custom, and therefore the Empresses of modern
times have feet of the natural size; neither is it in force
among the Hakkas or the hill tribes of China and
Formosa, nor among the boating population at Canton
and elsewhere. The women are curiously modest about
their small feet, and can never be induced to show them

264 ^ GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

bare, whereas large-footed women move about free!
without shots or stockings. The practice was forbidden
in 1664 by the Emperor K‘ang Hsi, but four years
afterwards the prohibition was withdrawn.

An Anti-Footbinding Society was started at Canton in
1899 by K‘ang Yu-wei (see Reftn-m under the

style with a membership of 10,000, but

this has probably been dropped. A similar association
was recently founded in Shanghai by a number of foreign
ladies, and is known as the translated by Mr.

Joseph G. Alexander as * Society of the Heavenly Foot."
But ^ heaven has here nothing^ to do with heavenly,
and simply means “ natural ’ as opposed to “artificial,"
a very’ common usage.

SMALL KNIFE REBELS: 77 # - A band of insurgents

who in 1853 captured the city of Amoy and held it for
some months. The Small Knife Sktcieiy was said to have
been a branch of the Triad Society (q,v.)^ and was introduced
into Amoy by a Singapore Chinaman in 1848. See a
paper by G. Hughes in the China Revieio^ vob I., p- 244.

SMELL-DOGS. Pidgin-English for hounds which hunt by
the nose.

SMELLUM WATER. Pidgin-English for scent of any kind.

SMOKE MOUNDS: ^(0 ^!p. Small furnaces scattered over
China at 2 or ^ miles apart, and used for lighting
beacon-fires on occasions of great national emergency.

SNAKE-BOAT: ^ ^ or Iff — paddled, or long, dragon.
A long narrow boat, of great speed, in use among
smugglers and pirates in the Canton waters. Propelled
by short paddles, like a canoe,

SNOWY VALLEY. A valley near Ningpo, much visited
by foreigners on account of its natural beauties.

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265

SOAP-STONE Steatite. So called because

it looks like soap and is so easily cut. Commonly used
by the Chinese for seals, small idols, etc.

SOHODZU or TZOWDZ A : . A Shanghai wheel-

barrow, formerly used for carrying passengers, but now
superseded by the jinrikisha (q.v.) as far as foreigners
are concerned.

SO-I : ^ — rain-clothes. The peculiar brown hairy-looking

garments, of grass or bamboo, worn by Chinese fishermen
and others in wet weather, making them “look like
hedge-hogs.”

SOLA. See Toopee.

SON OF HEAVEN: ^ . Sometimes translated “God’s

Vicegerent or Lieutenant upon Earth.” The title par
excellence of the Emperor of China, who is supposed to
hold his commission direct from on high. “It is plain, that
“the Emperors of China, like the popes of Rome, regard
“themselves as the exponents of the will of heaven.” —
Middle Kingdom . An attempt was recently made to show
that ^ is only an old nominal ending, and has nothing
to do with son-, one writer going even as far as to say
^ ^ means “Little Heaven” or “Our Heaven,” i.e.,
the Heaven we have to do with ^ but Sir E. Satow
appeared in the opposition ranks with the following
quotation from the Concordance ; — ^ ^ ^ -t

the Son-of- Heaven is worthy of esteem beyond
all others; therefore Heaven makes him its son. “Brother of
the sun and moon,” and other similar titles are probably the
inventions of Europeans, in spite of the very curious passage
in the ^ ^ IE — “The Lord of Mankind calls “the sun
his brother and the moon his sister’ ’A± Ji 0 mn.-
such terms being quite unknown to the people at large.

266

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

SONGCHING. The port of Kelchu, on the east coast of
Korea in the Hamchiung province, 500 /z north of
Wonsan. It has a large trade in dried fish.

SOOCHOW CREEK: Woosung river. An

affluent of the Huang-p‘u, dividing the British from the
American Concession at Shanghai. So called by foreigners
because it leads to Soochow. The Chinese say that it is
the real source of the Huang-p‘u (q^v.).

SOUCHONG : ® — small kind. A species of tea, of many

varieties. [Cantonese.]

SOY. This word is from the Japanese shoyu ^ vtiS , a kind
of sauce made from fermented wheat and beans. Has
been wrongly derived by some from the first syllable of
Soyer, the great gastronomer of that name.

SPARK TRAGEDY. A murderous attack made 22 nd
August 1874 by a body of armed ruffians on the passengers
and crew of the river steamer ^ SparF' plying between
Canton and Macao. The “pirates” took passage from
Canton in the usual way; and then seizing a favourable
opportunity, killed the captain, chief officer, and purser,
transferred their plunder to a junk that came alongside,
and made off. The only European passenger, Mr. Mundy,
escaped with frightful wounds, and subsequently published
an account of the affair under the title of “Canton and
the Bogue,” in which he took occasion to deal with other
questions equally beyond the scope of his work and the
narrow limit of his experiences in China. Since that
event, the hatches leading down to the quarters occupied
by Chinese passengers on all the Canton river steamers
are carefully padlocked soon after the vessel starts, and
a quarter-master watches with a drawn sword to guard
against any repetition of such an attack. Loaded rifles

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE 267

are also placed in the saloon for the use of European
passengers.

SPELLING SYSTEM: ^ . A method of expressing
the sounds of Chinese monosyllables by dividing each
one into initial and final portions. E.g. the sound of the
character % can be formed from the sounds of ktc
and ^ huang (which must of course be known) by taking
the initial k of the first and the final uang of the second =
kuang. Previous to the use of this system, which was
introduced by Indian Buddhists and first employed by
Shun Shu-jan in the 3rd cent. A.D., the sounds
of Chinese characters could only be indicated by reference
to other characters of similar sound. Thus would be
said to = ^ , on the assumption that the latter was a
known quantity.

SPIRITUALISM. Has long been practised in China, though
now under the ban of the law. We read how the Emperor
Wu Ti of the 2nd cent. B.C., when he lost a favourite
concubine whose beauty was such that “one glance would
overthrow a city, two glances a State,” engaged a
magician to put him in communication with her departed
spirit. Darkness, as with us, seems to be indispensable
at such seances. The attitude of the Confucianist as regards
spirits has been expressed by Chu Hsi, as follows. “It is
“impossible to state with absolute certainty that they do
“exist, and equally impossible to maintain a contrary
“opinion. As therefore definite knowledge is beyond our
“reach, we may well cease to speculate further.’^
SPRING AND AUTUMN: One of the Five

Classics., consisting of the annals of the petty kingdom of
Lu § from 722 to 484 B.C., said to have been compiled
by Confucius himself. A dry and uninteresting record,

268

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

dealing chiefly with names and dates; yet it was the
work by which Confucius said men would know him
and condemn him ; and Mencius considered it quite as
important an achievement as the draining of the empire
by the Great Yii. Of it he said, “Confucius completed
“the Spring and Autumn^ and rebellious ministers and
“bad sons were struck with terror.” From this has been
evolved the famous ^ “praise and blame” theory,
“one word of such praise being more honourable than
“an embroidered robe, and one word of such censure
“sharper than an axe.” In later days, however, it has
rather been around the marvellous commentary, known
as the Tso Chuan that chief interest has centred.

The Spring and Antumn owes its name to the old
custom of prefixing to each entry in the national annals
the year, month, day, and season^ in which the event
recorded took place; that is to say, as a native authority
puts it, “spring includes summer, and autumn winter,” — sc.
the four seasons. The explanation that “its commendations
are life-giving like autumn,” is untenable. The following
is a specimen of this renowned work, which, but for the
famous commentary above-mentioned, would throw scant
light on the history of the period referred to : —

“In the duke’s sixteenth year, in spring, in the king’s
“first month, on the first day of the moon, there fell
“hailstones in Sung. In the same month six fish-hawks
“flew backwards, past the capital of Sung.”

SQUEEZE. Originally, the commission which Chinese
servants, fully in accordance with Chinese custom, charged
their European masters on all j articles purchased. Now
extensively applied both as a verb and substantive to
peculation of any kind. Cf. the Indian dasturi.

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

269

“Formosa has long been viewed by native officials as a
“fat field for the practice of what is vulgarly known as
squeezings though politely termed taxation.” — Hongkong
Daily P^^ess^ 10 Oct., 1877.

STINK-POTS : i/C ^ ® ^ . Earthen jars, charged

with materials of an offensive and suffocating smell,
formerly much used by pirates in the China seas, and a
recognised weapon in Chinese warfare. The jars, which
hold about half a gallon, are filled with pow^der, sulphur,
small nails and shot. Their tops are covered over with
clay and sealed with chunam. They are then put into calico
bags closed at the mouth by a stout string. Several of
these are packed in a basket with a quantity of joss-stick
and hoisted up to the mast-head. When about to be
thrown, three or four pieces of the joss-stick are lighted
and inserted in each bag; and then, when the jar is
smashed by falling on the enemy’s deck, the joss-stick
ignites the powder and the whole thing explodes, knocking
down or blinding and suffocating the bystanders. A form
of stink-pot has been introduced into European warfare
under the name of “asphyxiating shells.”

STOxNE DRUMS OF THE CHOU DYNASTY: ^ ^ ^5 ■
Ten irregular-shaped blocks of stone discovered at Feng-
hsiang P'u in Shensi in the early part of the seventh
century, which now stand inside the Confucian temple at
Peking, where they were placed at the beginning of the
fourteenth century. Each bears an inscription in the
Greater Seal character (q-v.) on some subject connected
either with hunting or fishing. These drums are referred
to the Chou dynasty which commenced B.C. 1122; and
the characters, which are now much defaced, were once
filled with gold to preserve them from injury, but that

270 A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

was extracted on their removal to their present site. They
are probably genuine relics of early ages.

STONE FIGURES (at Chinese tombs): These

are connected primarily with ancient Chinese superstition
relating to invisible powers of evil and the means of
controlling them , — in fact , with fetish worship ; and
secondarily with the honours paid to deceased personages
of rank in the sacrifice of domestic animals to attend
them in the world of shadows. They have been called
^ Weng-chung^ from the personal name of one 7C
Ylian, who was a famous warrior under the First Emperor
and whose statue was set up beside his grave.

STUPA: ^ A raised mound or tower for containing
relics — originally, the various parts (84,000 in all) of
Buddha’s body. Known as Dagop (see Dagoba) in Ceylon.
The modern pagoda.

SUMPITAN. The Malay “blow-pipe” or bamboo tube
through which by a strong puff of breath the natives
discharge small arrows (sometimes poisoned) with great
force and effect. Is chiefly used for killing birds.

SUN, THE: 0 . Symbol of the Male or Positive Principle
in nature. There is a story, ascribed to a writer of the
2nd cent. B.C., telling how a general of the iith cent,
being engaged in a bloody battle and fearing that
night would interfere with his victory, raised his spear
and shook it at the declining sun, which straightway
went backwards in the sky to the extent of three
zodiacal signs.

SUNDIALS: Have been known to the Chinese for

many centuries, but it is not clear at what date they
first came into use.

SUNG DYNASTY, THE: A.D. 960 — 1280.

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

271

SUNGEI. The Malay term for a river, commonly occurring
in the names of places.

SUNRISE KINGDOM. Japan (q.v,).

“Neither opium-smoking nor feet-binding is known in
“the Sunrise Kingdom, a fact which differentiates the
“inhabitants strongly from the people of the Middle
“Kingdom.” — Rev. W. E. Griffis.

SUPERINTENDENT OE TRADE:M^:^£. A title
given, since 1861, to (i) the Viceroy of Chihli, who is
Superintendent of foreign trade at the noithern ports of
Tientsin, Newchwang, and Chefoo- and (2) to the Viceroy
of the I wo Kiang, who holds the same position with
regard to the remaining Treaty ports on the Yang-tsze
and in the south.

SURNAMES. See Hundred Family Names.

SUTRA : ^ . That part of the Buddhist canon which contains
the actual sayings of Shakyamuni Buddha. Each begins
with ^ ^ this is what I have heard. See Tripitaka.

SVASTIKA ; A mystic emblem of great antiquity,

regarded as the symbol of Buddha’s heart PP •

Known among the Teutonic nations as “Thor’s Hammer,”
and used in India in primitive times as a sign for marking
cattle. Svastika is derived from su “well” and as “to be,”
meaning “it is well” or “so be it,” and implying complete
resignation under all circumstances. It is always directed
towards the rieht; the other rtf directed tow^ards the left
is called Sauvastika. Svastika is the first of the auspicious
signs on the foot-print of Buddha ; Sauvastika is the
fourth. The latter, with its crampons to the left, occurs
in K‘ang Hsi’s lexicon under radical ten with four
strokes added. It is stated to be a form of ^ ten
thousand^ and the following verse is quoted : —

272 A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

m ^ ^ m ^ %

“The lotus and the sauvastika must have come from
heaven.”

SWAN-PAN SUAN-P‘AN. See Abacus,

SWATOW : VlillS- One of the thirteen ports opened by
the Treaty of Tientsin, 1858. Originally a small fishing
village, it is now a bustling town with a large export
trade in sugar. All business was formerly carried on
at “Double Island,” where may be seen tlie ruins of
mercantile houses, godowns, etc., and which is still
inhabited by foreign pilots and their families; but in
1862 the British Consulate was opened at Kak-chio
^ ^ on the opposite side of the harbour to the town
of Swatow. Our word is the local pronunciation of the
Chinese characters.

SWORD-WRACK. An absurd name for a rowdy gang of
Chinese who some years ago gave great trouble at
Newchwang. The term is ^ sword- smith which

was evidently misinterpreted as 'J] ^ fl* sword-rack,, the
two Chinese expressions being identical in sound. The 2V
was probably added by the “devil.”

SYCEE: ^ ^ — fine silk. Chinese lump silver is so called,
because, if pure, it may be drawn out under the application
of heat into Jine silk threads.

Another explanation says that the term originated in
the five northern provinces, as follows WTen the Shansi
bankers melt silver into ingots, after it has been liquefied
and poured into the mould, and before it has again
solidified, the mould is lightly tapped, when there appear
on the surface of the silver fine, silk-like, circular lines.
The higher the “touch” of the metal, the more like fine
silk are these circlings on the surface of the silver.

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273

Hence ingots of full quality are classified as sycee.
See Shoe.

A wag has remarked —

Some ask me what the cause may be
That Chinese silver’s called sycee.

’Tis probable they call it so
Because they sigh to see it go.

Must not be confounded with the Indian word syce^
which means “a groom.”

SZECHUEN or SSU-CH'UAN: ^ j|| — four streams. The
largest of the Eighteen Provinces. Capital city
Ch'eng-tu F'u. Old name ^ Shu.

TA! TA! ^ ^ — strike! strike! A common Chinese cry
in a riot or other disturbance, when violence is intended.
Foreign travellers and sportsmen have not unfrequently
heard this threat directed against themselves- and on
the occasion of the Tientsin Massacre, it is said that the
whole street in which stood the establishment of the
Catholic sisters resounded with the ominous word.

TA CHdN or TA TSdN: . A country mentioned

on the Nestorian Tablet (qso.) as the seat of the Luminous
Teaching or Christianity, and further treated in Chinese
accounts of foreign countries. It had been identified with
various regions by various writers, until Professor Hirth
settled the question by showing in his “China and the
Roman Orient” that the term could only refer to Syria.

TA JEN: — great man. The title of Chinese officials

from Taot‘ais upwards; in .some cases equivalent to “His
Excellency.”

TABASHEER. A siliceous concretion found inside the
joints of the bamboo and employed by the Chinese as a
medicine.

TABIK. The Malay salutation = Salaam !

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TABLET OF YU : # ^ |l|^ ll# — the Kou-lou

Stone, i.e., the stone which formerly stood on the Kou-lou
peak of Mount ^ Heng in the modern province of
Hupeh. It is said that when the Great Yii (B.C.

2278) rested from his labours of draining off the waters
of the Chinese deluge he recorded the event

upon a tablet of stone and placed it upon the Kou-lou
peak. Ssil-ma Chden, the historian, passes it over in
silence, but it appears to have been mentioned by a Taoist
mystic in the 1st cent. A.D. The spot was visited by
the great Han Yii who died in 824, and again by Chu
Hsi who died in 1 200, but neither of them could find
the tablet. It was finally discovered on another peak in
1212 A.D., more than three thousand years afterwards.
Imitations of this tablet are to be seen at Wu-ch‘ang F'u
opposite Hankow, and in the Yu-lin temple near Shao-
hsing Fu in Chehkiang; but the inscription on the original
stone, which has long since disappeared, is believed by
many to have been nothing more nor less than a gross
forgery of modern times. For translations by Dr. Legge
and Ch. Gardner, sec China Rcviczv^ vol. II., p. 300.

It may perhaps be worth noting that the identification
of the so-called “tadpole” characters (g.v.J in which this
famous inscription is written has not been carried out with
perfect consistency. In the original there are no duplicates,
yet in the modern transcription we find ^ twice over,
and once by itself and once in composition where it
would be quite impossible for any except an enthusiast
to detect the identity of the two. Besides this, the
formation of these characters is such as to leave no doubt
that they were traced with a brush, and not with the
.stylus employed until about two centuries B.C. Rubbings

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275

of the Tablet may be seen in Legge’s Chinese Classics^
III, Pt. I, 73; in the Journal of the North China Branch
of the Royal Asiatic Society for 1868; and in No. 3,
Vol. Ill, of The Far East (New Series).

TABOO, TO: A term used to express the custom,

common among Chinese merchants, of combining against
and refusing to trade with any unpopular firm. It is also
employed in reference to names which may not be written
or uttered, in which case the Chinese equivalent is
The word is of Polynesian origin and is also in use
among the Maoris.

TADPOLE CHARACTER; The ancient form

of Chinese "characters as seen, for instance, on the
Tablet of Yli (g.v.J. So called by the Chinese from their
resemblance to tadpoles swimming about in water.

TAEL: ^ — an ounce (of silver) = 5 79.84 From the

Hindu ‘‘tola,” through the Malayan word “tahil.”

16 tahil = I kati.

100 kate = .i pikul.

40 pikul = I koian.

A tael is merely an ounce weight of pure silver; there
is no such coin. It is not however a uniform weight,
neither is the bullion of uniform touch or purity. Thus
Tls. 100 of the standard weight = only Tls. 98 of the
Fti pHng or Treasury scale, while they= Tls. 102 of the
Shanghai scale.

TAGAL or TAGALO. One of the dialects of the Philippine
Islands, of essentially Malayan character but differing
considerably from the Malay language as heard in the
Straits’ Settlements. Is spoken in Manila.

TAH. A Pagoda ^ t'‘^p = tope.

TAIFOO: R R. The Chinese term in the north of China

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for a medical man, and thus commonly used among
foreigners.

TAIFOO: §|) — great assistant. The name in use among

Chinese sailors employed on foreign coasting-vessels to
designate the Chief Officer.

TAIKONG or TOKONG: 1 — steersman. A head

boatman. Used in the south of China, and equivalent to
lowdah (q.v.) in the north.

TAI-MUNG. A small lightly-built, lorcha-rigged Chinese
war-junk.

TAIPAN: -k M — great manager. The head of, or partner
in, a foreign house of business. The beggars and little boys
all over the south of China shout “Taipan!” “Taipan !”
to any foreigner from whom they wish to extract a
gratuity, so general is the belief that every foreigner in
China must necessarily be engaged in trade. Formerly
the title applied to all foreign Consuls.

T‘AI-P‘ING TAU-PING — great peace. The name
chosen by the so-called Long-haired Rebels
for the new dynasty which, but for the assistance rendered
by Colonel Gordon to the Imperial side, would in all
probability have been established. The rebellion that goes
by this name broke out in the south of China in 1850,
under the leadership of Hung Hsiu-ch'iian ^
who pretended that he had a mission from God and
called himself the Heavenly Prince ^ ^ . As it spread
northwards, various large cities fell into the hands of
the rebels, among others Nanking, which the Heavenly
Prince at once consecrated as his capital. These, however,
were gradually recovered by the exertions of the Ever
Victorious Army and the rebellion was finally

crushed by the re-capture of Nanking in July 1864, a

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277

day or two before which the Heavenly Prince put an
end to his life by poison.

T‘AI-T‘AI: The title given to the wife of any official

who wears a button. We have heard of a missionary
lady who always insisted on being thus addressed by her
servants, to the no small amusement of the latter. One
of the proper Chinese designations for a lady, whose
husband does not happen to be an official, is ^ ^
niang-niang.

T‘AIWAN : — (i) extensive bay; (2) terraced bay.

The island of F'ormosa (q.v.)^ once known as Kelung
(q>v,). From its growing importance it was erected into
a 19th province, but after the war of 1894 — 5 it
was ceded to the Japanese. “The Chinese name of it,
“Taiwan, or Bay of the Raised Terrace, probably refers
“to the square flat-roofed block house. Fort Zelandia,
“built by the Dutch when they were in possession of
“the island, and which is now a mark for vessels making
“the anchorage at the capital, Taiwan-fu .” — Herbert
7, Allen,

T^aiwan (now T^ainan) Fu was one of the thirteen ports
opened to trade by the Treaty of Tientsin, 1858.

TAKOW: — beat the dog; a corruption of the original

name tr u beat the drum, — from the Chinese name for
Apes’ Hill, derived from the beating of the waves upon
its rocks. The port of the city of T‘aiwan Fu, in South
Formosa. Opened to trade by the Treaty of Tientsin,
1858, but not formally occupied until 1864.

TAKU : -h A small village at the mouth of the Peiho
or northern river, near which were situated the celebrated
forts passed by the allied forces in 1858 and taken in
i860, a severe repulse having been sustained there in

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1859. The new forts now erected on the spot are armed
with Kriipp guns,

TA LIEN WAN : :A: jl fig 7ft . A bay at the

southern extremity of the Liaotung peninsula, leased to
Russia, with Port Arthur, in 1898. See Dalny,

TALAPOIN. A Buddhist priest is so called in Burmah and
Siam. In the presence of women or in the street, the
phoongye (priest) always has a fan to screen his face.
This fan is made from the leaf of the Tala-pat palm,
with a handle shaped like an S. Hence, Buddhist priests
have been termed Talapoins,

TAMASHA. An Arabic word meaning “entertainment,”
“show,” “spectacle,” etc. Often used in the general sense
of “function.”

TAMERLANE, See Timour.

TAMSUI : — fresh water; also known as A

port at the northern end of the island of P'ormosa, opened
to trade by the Treaty of Tientsin, 1858. Bombarded by
the PTench in 1884. “It is an uninteresting place.” —
Chronicle & Directory for China ^ Japan etc.: 18 jj.

T'ANG DYNASTY: 0 A. D.6 18—907. The Elizabethan
age of Chinese literature. Chinese in the south of China
still call themselves “Men of T'ang.” See Tojin.

TANGO. A Korean coin, 6 parts copper to 4 parts lead,
issued in 1883 and intended to be legal tender for 5 of
the old coinage, 105 being equal to the Mexican dollar.
Their value has now fallen to over 200 per dollar.

TANGRAM. A very uncommon name for the familiar
Chinese puzzle in seven pieces — five triangles, a

square, and a lozenge.

TANGUT or TANGOUT : jS 5 - An ancient kingdom,
which existed from A.D. 1032 to 1227 and occupied

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279

what is now known as the province of Kansuh. It was
founded by Chao Yiian-hao, who invented a written
language identified by the late Professor Deveria with
the unknown script on the gate at the pass beyond
Peking. The name Tangut is earlier-, it appears in an
inscription dated 734.

TANHA. The Buddhist “will to live,” or force which,
under the guidance of Karma, causes the production of
every new being. See Buddha.

TANKA : ^ ^ — egg people. The boat population of
Canton ; so called from the name of a tribe, and not from
the shape of their boats, now known as “egg-boats.”
They are the ‘descendants of an aboriginal people, driven
before the advance of Chinese civilisation to live in boats
upon the river, being for centuries forbidden by law to
live ashore. The Emperor Yung Cheng (1730) allowed
them to settle in villages in the immediate neighbourhood
of the river; but they were then, and are still, excluded
from competition for official honours, and are forbidden
by custom to intermarry with the rest of the people.

TAO: ^ — the Way, the eternal Way, as Lao Tzu expressly
tells us, and not the way which can be walked upon
(see next entry). Chuang Tzu says, “What there was
“before the universe was Tao. Tao makes things what
“they are, but is not itself a thing.”

“When the subjective and objective are both without
“their correlates, that is the very axis of Tao. And when
“that axis passes through the centre at which all infinities
“converge, positive and negative alike blend into an
“infinite One.”

TAOISM: A system of philosophy founded by Lao

Tzil (q^v.) some six centuries before the Christian era.

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A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

Has been styled Rationalism and Naturalism by various
writers. Its leading doctrines teach man that for purposes
of this life his soul was withdrawn from existence as a
unit in an infinite mass of perfect vitality which circles
unceasingly in space around the polar star. They further
teach how, by a course of non-resistance and inaction, to
bring his moral and physical natures into perfect harmony
with their environment, the result being a complete victory
over all obstacles to human happiness and even over
death itself. Thus death, which would otherwise mean
annihilation, becomes merely a re-absorption into the
Central Source or First Cause. About the time of the
Han dynasty (q.v.J pure Taoism became corrupted by
an admixture of superstition in the form of alchemy and
a search for the elixir of life. A severe struggle followed
upon the subsequent introduction of Buddhism, but the
two religions soon began to flourish peaceably side by
side, and even to borrow from each other, so that at the
present day many dogmas and ceremonies are preached
and practised promiscuously by priests of either faith.
Both are really under the ban of the law (see Sacred
Edict)., and both are professedly despised by disciples of
the pure ethics of Confucius. Thus it is always necessary
to distinguish between the Taoism of today and that of
its founder two thousand and more years ago. In one
passage, alluding to the pure Taoism of Lao Tzii, Chu
Hsi says, “ His teaching may be summed up as the
^Doctrine of Surrender to other s.'^ In another place,
dealing with modern Taoism, he writes thus: — “Buddhism
“stole the best features of Taoism, Taoism stole the worst
“features of Buddhism; it is as though the one stole a
“jewel from the other, and the loser re-couped the loss

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281

“with a stone.” He also said “The teaching of Lao Tzii
“aims only at the preservation of man’s vitality.”

The members of the Taoist Trinity, ^ or Three
Pure Ones, are Lao Tzu, P‘an Ku, and Yii Huang Shang
Ti. There is also a trinity of the Primordial Powers
^ TC . which are Heaven, Earth, and Man.

TAO-SZE or TAO-SSU : Taoist priest (see last

entry). The celebrated “Zadkiel,” who publishes an annual
almanac in which the principal events of the coming
year are foretold, calls himself a “Tao sze” of the “Most
Ancient Order of the Svastika” (q.v.). Taoist priests are
generally considered by the Chinese to be able to perform
miracles and "work cures (see Mesrnerisnt).

TAO-T'AI: ^1^. Called by foreigners the Intendant of
a Circuit (of Prefectures), into a number of which each
province is subdivided, and wherein he usually has general
control over all affairs civil and military^ subject of course
to the approval of the Fu-t'ai or (and) Tsung-tu (q^v.J.

TAO TE CHING: A small treatise, consisting

of only 5,321 characters, which since A.D. 666 has been
generally accepted as the canon of Taoism, and has been
attributed, but on insufficient grounds, to Lao Tzu himself,
being in all probability a work of the second or third
century after Christ. About a twentieth part of it consists
of what were perhaps genuine utterances by Lao Tzu,
handed down by tradition. It has nothing whatever to
do with the Taoist religion of modern times. It is quite
unknown to the people at large, and is very widely
unread by native scholars who one and all regard it as a
spurious production of the Han dynasty. It is never once
mentioned by Confucius or Mencius, or even by Chuang
Tzti, the great disciple of Lao Tzii, whose writings are

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A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

devoted exclusively to the elucidation of Tao as taught
by his Master and who flourished as late as the 4th
and 3rd cent. B.C. Yet this precious work has been
included in the Sacred Books of the East. The following
are among the intelligible specimens of this otherwise
obscure work : —

“To the good, I would be good. To the not-good, I
“would also be good, — in order to make them good. To
“the faithful, I would be faithful. To the not-faithful, I
“would also be faithful, — in order to make them faithful.

“The truth is not agreeable. That which is agreeable
“is not the truth. The good do not argue. Those who
“argue are not good. The wise make no display of their
“wisdom. Those who make such display are not wise.”

Some enthusiasts have found the word yehovah in the
following : —

“That which when looked for eludes the sight is called
“/ ^ the Invisible. That which when listened for eludes
“the ear is called Hi the Inaudible. That which when
“felt for eludes the touch is called Wei the Intangible.
“These three cannot be thoroughly investigated. Therefore
“they may be brought together under one denomination.”
[I-hi-wei= Jehovah.]

TARTARS or TATARS ; or ^ or

etc., etc. Vaguely applied to the various tribes inhabiting
the steppes of Central Asia, and to the Manchus, the
founders of the present dynasty, that portion of Peking
in which the latter reside being known as the Tartar
City. “The Revolt of the Tartars” is a magnificent essay
by De Quincey, describing the flight in A.D. 1771 of a
whole Tartar nation from Russia to China, where, after
endless sufferings on the way, the remnant of their host

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was received back into the fold by the Emperor Chden Lung
himself. These Kalmuck Tartars had been incorporated
into the Russian empire in 1616, and their migration
was a real one; the details, however, and especially the
numbers, were supplied from the author’s own imagination.

TARTAR-GENERAL: ^ — Commander-in-chief. The

Manchu commanders of Bannermen garrisons,

stationed at certain of the most important points of the
Chinese Empire, are so called. Their presence is meant
as a check upon the action of the civil authorities.
Strictly speaking, they rank with but before the Viceroy,
practically, their ranks are regarded as equal.

TA TSdN. See 7 a ChHn,

TA-TSING or TA-CH‘ING DYNASTY: the

Great Pure dynasty. The name of the present or
Manchu dynasty. Actually established 1 644. Is considered
remarkable amongst the Chinese for the mildness of its
Penal Code.

TATHAGATA or JULAI: ^ A name of Gautama

Buddha, implying that he came in the same manner as
all previous Buddhas.

TAU-KWANG TAO-KUANG: glory of right

principle. The style of reign adopted by the Emperor
who ruled China from 1821 to 1851.

TEA : ^ (book name ^ ). Introduced into Europe towards
the close of the i6th century under the name tcha (which
is still retained in the Portuguese language, less the
initial t — cha) or chaw^ the former being the Cantonese
pronunciation of the Chinese term. F'irst taken to England
in the 1 7th century. The word tea is from the Amoy
and Swatow readings of the character ^ , namely tay \
and thus it was originally pronounced: —

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That excellent, and by all Physitians approved, China Drink, called by the
Chineans Tcha^ by other Nations Tay alias Tee^ is sold at the Sultaness Head,
a cophee house in Sweetings Rents, by the Royal Exchange, London.

The Weekelcy Neivcs^ 31 Jan. 1606.

Here thou, great Anna ! whom three realms obey.

Dost sometimes counsel take — and sometimes tea.

Pope,

By degrees, the word came to be used in England
of any infusion; e.g.^ cowslip tea, linseed tea, beef
tea, and —

Why will Delia thus retire ?

Why so languish, live away?

Whilst the sighing crews admire,

’Tis too late for hartshorn tea.

Cowper, in his Task.^ alludes to tea as —

.... the cups

That cheer but not inebriate ....

and Churchill, in The Ghost., thus refers to the old custom
of foretelling events by tea-leaves : —

Matrons, who toss the cup, and see
The grounds of Fate in grounds of Tea.

The best pun on the word is contained in a line from
Virgil’s eighth Eclogue —

Te veniente die, te decedente canebat,

quoted in this sense by Dr, Johnson.

The growth of the China tea trade may be illustrated
as follows: — In the year 1678, the East India Company
carried to England as a speculation 4,713 Ids. In 1760
the amount had increased to over 2,000,000 lbs. In
1780, it was upwards of 20,000,000 In 1869, it was
203,753,000 Ibs^ more than half being taken by Great
Britain and its possessions.

TEA-BOAT. Another name for the Hotow (q.v.).
TEA-CLIPPER. A fast-sailing ship, built to carry tea from
China to London, with special reference to the great

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annual Ocean Race (q^v,). No passengers were taken,
every available space being filled with tea and all the
energies of the crew concentrated upon the race, the
prize for which consisted in a high premium paid upon
the tea carried by the winning vessel.

TEA-GOBBERS. A slang name for tea-tasters or Chaaszes
(q.v.).

TEA-POY or TEPOY ; Ai • A small table, light and
handy, convenient for tea or other drinks, trom tea and
the Latin podium^ through the French apput (compare
hodie and aujourd" hui)^ or the Spanish apoyo a support.
The form “tepoy” is common, but of course incorrect.
Cf, the Persian tinpae three-footed; sc. a tea-poy.

“A nest of four tea-poys costs from $5 to $12.” —
Treaty Ports. [Tea-poys are always made in sets or nests
of so many different sizes, the smaller fitting closely inside
the larger.]

TEE-TAI or T‘I-T‘AI: A high provincial official

in charge of the military administration of his province
as regards native troops, the Manchu force being under
the exclusive command of the Tartar General (q-v.).

TELEGRAPHY. As it would be impossible to telegraph
Chinese characters, the following method has been devised.
Six thousand eight hundred and ninety-nine leading
characters have been ranged under numbers 0001 — 6899,
and the transmission of messages is carried on as with
an ordinary cypher code. This system is said to have
been the invention of a Frenchman named Viguier, of
the Imperial Maritime Customs.

TEMPLES. The general name in use for all kinds of
Chinese places of worship. May be roughly distinguished
as follows: —

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A GLOSSARY OR REFERENCE

^ — Buddhist: always monasteries.

^ — do. generally nunneries.

do. either monasteries or nunneries.

^ — Taoist:^ either monasteries or nunneries.

^ — (i) Taoist: always monasteries. (2) Spiritual shrines
of Emperors ^ ^ ^ , of Confucius ^ ^ , and of other
deceased worthies.

^ — (i) generic term; (2) large Buddhist temples
dedicated to various deities and uninhabited by priests^
roadside shrines, etc., etc.

— the ancestral halls of private individuals.

Buddhist monasteries are also known as

etc., etc. All temples, of no matter what denom-
ination, must exhibit on the altar a tablet inscribed
with the words ^ ^ ^ “Lord of ten thousand times

ten thousand years,” i.e.^ the Emperor, as a proof that
religious convictions are not allowed to interfere with
political fidelity, Buddhist priests shave the entire head;
Taoist priests do not. Red walls imply that the temple
was founded by Imperial sanction. The huge figures at
the gates of an ordinary Buddliist monastery are two
door-keepers, one on either side; and further on, the four
Heavenly Kings, who are set there to guard the place
from evil demons. The first shrine contains images of the
Three Precious Ones, the Buddhas past, present, and to
come, otherwise known as the Buddhist Trinity (q,v.)\
the second contains a dagoba which covers some relic of
Buddha; and the last a figure of Kwan-yin, the Chinese
goddess of mercy.

The Confucian Temple ^ ^ is to be found in every

I Occasionally occupied by Buddhist priests, having passed into their hands by
sale or by the expulsion of the Taoists.

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287

Prefectural and District city, and in every market-town
throughout the empire. Its walls are generally red, which
was the official colour under the Chou dynasty. It
contains commemorative tablets of Confucius and of a
large number of scholars of later ages whose writings
have tended towards elucidating or disseminating the
teachings of the great Sage.

TEMPO: — may Heaven protect. A Japanese oval

bronze coin, sixteen and a fraction being equal to i 6 u.

TENNO; — Heavenly ruler. A title of the Mikado

TENSHI ; ^ — Son of Heaven. A title of the Mikado

fg.v.J. Cf. Son of Hcavefi.

TEPO. See Tifao.

TEPOY. See Tca-poy.

TERM QUESTION, THE. A bitter controversy which
has raged for many years past among the various sects
of missionaries as to the correct rendering of “God” into
Chinese. The first difficulty arose between the Jesuits
on the one side and the Dominicans and Franciscans on
the other, the latter objecting to the use of such terms
as ^ THen “Heaven” and Shang-ti “Supreme

Ruler” as representing the material heavens and the
spirits of deified Emperors instead of the true God. The
question was referred first to the Emperor K^ang Hsi,
whose decision favoured the idea that ^ was the Supreme
Being; and then to the Pope, the final result being that
Clement XI published in 1704 a decree to the effect that
5 ^ i T^ien Chu “Lord of Heaven” was henceforth to
be the Catholic term for God, and such it has remained
to the present day. The Roman Catholic religion had
previously been known as ^ the Jesus Association

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A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

(see Protestant Missionaries) \ and Ricci, not venturing to
risk a borrowed term for God, coined the expression ^ ,
the sounds of which were meant to represent the Latin Deus.

As regards the Protestant difficulties on this point, Dr.
Morrison gave his preference to Shin, the common
name for the numerous gods and P'u-sas (q.v.) of the
modern Chinese Pantheon, in the hope of convincing the
Chinese “that their ideas of Shin are erroneous.” In this
he has been followed by many, who object to the use
of Shang-ti on the ground that “the early sovereigns
“of the Chinese worshipped the spirits of their deified
“ancestors” under this term. Sir J. Bowring suggested 0,
the first letter of the Greek Gao? “God,” and some
Protestants have agreed to adopt the Roman Catholic
Pien Chu \ but the learning of the missionary phalanx
has now for many years been chiefly arrayed on the
side of Shang-ti. Other terms used by the Chinese in
the sense of God, Providence, the Creator, etc., are

To outsiders, the discussion presents at least one
feature of absurdity, namely, that every newly-arrived
missionary adopts whatever term may be in force with
his own party on the mere assumption that it is the right
one — an assumption too that he rarely if ever departs
from in after life. In fact, to parody the words of a great
teacher, mere accident has decided which of these terms
is the object of his reliance; and the same causes which
make him a Shinist in Ningpo, would have made him a
Shang-ti-ite in Canton or Peking.

[At a prayer-meeting where missionaries of different
sects were collected, the minister at whose house the
gathering took place thanked God for the abundant

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blessing which had everywhere followed on the use of
the term Shang-ti. His brethren — those at least of the
number who used Shin — though prevented by decorum
from rising from their knees, testified their disapproval
by audible coughs . — Edinburgh Review^ No. 300].

TERRA JAPONICA. See Cutch,

THEATRE. Omitting all mention of the so-called
‘‘pantomimes” of the Confucian period, the modern
Chinese drama is believed to date only from the 1 3th
cent. A.D., when Mongol Emperors were occupying the
throne of China. Under the T‘ang dynasty, 7th to loth
cent., a kind of operatic performance with music and
song had been much in vogue, and from this the
present drama may well have been developed, though
the connecting links have not as yet been traced out.
Chinese plays are either civil or military, in reference
to the more or less polished style employed. Tragedies
and farces are common to these two classes, the military
plays being further characterised by greater rapidity of
action. The actors are all male, no women having been
allowed to appear since the time of the Emperor Ch‘ien
Lung (g.v.J whose mother was an actress. They are a
tabooed class, and even their descendants down to the third
generation are disqualified for an official career. Their
various roles are classified as follows, each actor being
called upon to perform only such parts as are comprised
under the class to which he particularly belongs : —

( 1 ) Sheng ^ .

a. As the Emperor, or heavy father.

b. As successful general, or rising statesman.

c. As “walking gentleman.”

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A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

(2) Ching # .

The villain of the piece. Generally some rebel

chieftain or daring outlaw.

(3) Tan M.

a. As Empress, or aged dame.

b. As respectable middle-aged lady.

c. As fast young lady of the period.

d. As servant-maid.

(4) CJi'ou -H: .

The low-comedy man or woman.

The stage has no curtain, and no scenery. The orchestra
is on the stage itself, behind the actors. There is no
prompter, and no call-boy. Stage footmen wait at the
sides to carry in screens etc. to represent houses, city
walls and so on, or hand cups of tea to the actors when
their throats become dry from vociferous singing. Dead
people get up and walk off the stage ; or while lying
derd, contrive to alter their faces, and then get up and
carry themselves off. There is no interval between one
play and the next following, which probably gave rise to
the erroneous belief that Chinese plays are long, the fact
being that they are very short. According to the Penal
Code (q-v.) there may be no impersonation of Emperors
and Empresses of past ages, but this clause is now held
to refer solely to the present dynasty.

THOUSAND CHARACTER ESSAY: ^ 4; A piece
of composition, containing exactly looo different words
arranged in intelligible though disconnected sentences.
Was put together in a single night by Chou Hsing-ssu
a distinguished scholar of the 6 th century
A.D., his hair turning white under the effort. Hence

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291

the essay (and even the writer) is often spoken of as
or Essay of the White Head. Is the second
primer put into the hands of a Chinese schoolboy (see
Trimetrical Classic)^ and is studied more for the sake
of gaining a knowledge of its 1000 characters than for
any useful information to be found therein. The following
is a specimen : —

Like arrows, years fly swiftly by :

The sun shines brightly in the sky •

The starry firmament goes round;

The changing moon is constant found.

The heat remains, the fuel spent —

Be then on time to come intent.

A dignity of mien maintain,

As if within some sacred fane.

" Adjust your dress with equal care
For private as for public w'ear;

For all men love to crack a joke
At ignorant and vulgar folk.

[There is also a Thousand Character Essay for girls.
See China Review^ vol. II., p. 182.]
THREE-CHARACTER CLASSIC. See Trhnetrical Classic.
THREE TEACHINGS, THE, THE THREE KIAO.
^ ^ . A collective term for Confucianism, Buddhism,
and Taoism; that is, the ethics of Confucius, and the
unorthodox religions of Buddha and Lao-tzu

A wit has remarked that the Chinese have in reality
^ or four kiao, the fourth being % “sleep,” %
in this expression having precisely the same sound in
Mandarin as ^ .

THRONELESS KING, THE: ^ S . A name first given
by Chuang Tzu, 4th and 3rd cent. B.C., to the man
who applies to all mundane affairs the great principle
of Inaction. The term is now associated with Confucius,
chiefly from a passage in the ^ij ^ , Bk.

“the son of crystal shall succeed

292

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

“the decayed Chows and be a throneless king.” The
allusion is to his moral sway.

THUG. A Hindi word, pronounced signifying “deceiver,”
and applied to assassins of a peculiar class who first gain
the confidence of their victims and then take a favourable
opportunity of strangling and robbing them.

TIAO: . Properly speaking a string of 1000 cash = about

one dollar, but varying in different places.

TIBET : ® , or under the Ming dynasty ^ H •

“The name Tibet, by which since the days of Marco
“Polo the country has been known in European geography,
“is represented in Chinese bv the characters T^M‘peh~Lch
T‘ubod, intended probably to reproduce the
“sound of the appellation given to it among the Mongols.”
— Alaycrs,

Dr. Williams says the word is derived from Tupo^
country of the Tu, a race which overran that part of the
world in the 6th century.

TICAL. A Siamese silver coin equal to about 60 cents.
The new tical has a triple umbrella on one side and an
elephant on the other.

TIC-A-TAC. A kind of Chinese boat.

TIENTSIN: being elliptical for the

ford of the Heavenly River. One of the thirteen ports
opened by the Treaty signed there in 1858. The foreign
settlement, situated on the right bank of the Peiho at
the outskirts of the town, is called Tzu-chu-lin^

grove of red bamboos, and was described in the Shanghai
Courier of 15 Oct. 1877 as “a very frequented spot, to
“which sailors are in the habit of resorting to get drunk.”
TIENTSIN MASSACRE. On the 21st June 1870, the
Roman Catholic cathedral and the establishment of sisters

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293

of mercy at Tientsin, the French Consulate and other
buildings, were pillaged and burnt by a mob composed
partly of the rowdies of the place and partly of soldiers
who happened to be temporarily quartered there. All the
priests and sisters were brutally murdered, as also the
P'rerich Consul and his chancelier, another French official
and his wife, besides several other foreigners. For this
outrage a large indemnity was exacted, the Prefect and
Magistrate were banished, and the then Superintendent
of Trade, Ch'ung-hou, was sent to France with a letter
of apology from the Emperor.

The Chinese at Tientsin had been previously irritated
beyond measure by the height to which, contrary to their
own custom, the cathedral towers had been carried; and
rumours were afloat that behind the lofty walls and dark
mysterious portals of the Catholic F'oundling Hospital,
children’s eyes and hearts were extracted from still
warm corpses to furnish medicines for the barbarian
pharmacopoeia,

TIFP^IN. The mid-day meal; luncheon. P'rom the Persian
tafannun. There is a strange similarity between this
word and the north-country tiffing^ which means to take
a snack at any odd hour betw^een regular meals.

TIGERS. Chinese soldiers are sometimes so called from
the tiger’s head on their shields, painted with a huge
gaping mouth and eyes, and intended to strike terror into
the hearts of their enemies. The tiger is the Chinese “King
of beasts,” as shown by the markings on the forehead
which run into a very close imitation of the character
T wang^ a king. This character is also reproduced on
the shields above-mentioned. The soldiers are occasionally
dressed in imitation tiger-skins, with tails and all complete ;

294 ^ GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

and yell as they advance to battle, in the hope that their
cries will be mistaken for the tiger’s roar.

TILL A. A word used in Central Asia for about ten
shillings-worth of silver. ? Tael.

TIME. See Year^ Moon^ etc.

TIMOUR: ^ . The great Mongol conqueror, a Turk

by descent, and son of a Governor of the province of
Kesh. Was called Timurlenc, “Timour the lame,” from
a defect in his gait caused by a wound received in battle.
Hence the corrupted form of his name, Tamerlane. Timur,
in a Turkish dialect, means iron, which sense is preserved
in the first Chinese character employed as above. Born
A.D. 1333*, died 1404, on his way to invade China.
His tomb, known as Gur Amir, is still to be seen at
Bokhara.

TINCAL: H Borax of a more or less impure quality.
[Persian.]

T‘ING-CH‘AI: ^ ^ — one who zvaits to be sent on o^cial
business. Messengers employed at Chinese Yamens and
at Consulates in China are so called,

TI-PAO: A headman of the people, selected by

the local Mandarins, and responsible for the peace and
good order of the district over which he is set. The
post is considered an honourable one •, it is occasionally
lucrative, but very often burdensome and trying in the
extreme. For instance, if a ti-pao fails to produce any
offenders belonging to his district, he is liable to be
bambooed or otherwise severely punished. All petitions
and other legal instruments should bear the ti-paoi s
stamp (^), as a guarantee of good faith. See Seals,
Mandarin.

Besides the above officer, the people have a custom

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295

of themselves electing a private ti-pao, who is called
$ chih skih, manager of affairs, because small local
quarrels and other little difficulties are referred to him
for arbitration.

TITHING SYSTEM: Was introduced into China

by ^ Wei Yang, who drew up a Penal Code for the
Ch'in State, about 361 B.C. Ten families make a CAza^j
and ten Chia make a Pao or Li M. . Each Chia and
Pao must elect a headman to serve for one year, subject
to the approval of the District Magistrate; and all the
members of the tithing are mutually responsible for the
good behaviour of one another.

TO: . The tenth part of a kokti f^.v.J — a.hout half an

imperial bushel. [Japanese.] See Tow,

TO ON: SS ^ . A pronunciation of Chinese used by the
Japanese and representing the sounds of the language
as heard at the capital under the T'ang dynasty. See
Go On,

TOB A : The family name of the Emperors of the

Northern Wei dynasty, founded A.D. 398 by Toba Kuei.
It is explained as Jh Earth Lord, earth being the
chosen element of the Yellow Emperor (q^v.) from whom
the House of Toba claimed descent.

TOBACCO: . Is said by the Chinese to have been

introduced from the Philippine Islands under the name of
G IK tan-pa- ku or A ^ pa-koh. It was regarded as
a specific against malaria; however in 1628 its import
was prohibited, and when people began to grow it, the
penalty, first of banishment and then of death, was
imposed. Others say it was carried from Japan into
Manchuria, through Korea, some 280 years ago. Its
cultivation was at first prohibited as likely to interfere

296 A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

with the production of food, but it soon came to be
widely grown, especially in the neighbourhood of Kirin
where the soil is well suited to the plant. The Manchus
then brought tobacco to China.

TOJIN : — a man of T‘ang Originally, a

Chinaman; but now contemptuously used for all foreigners
by Japanese.

TOKAIDO: ^ — the road of the eastern sea. The

great highway of Japan extending from Yedo to Kiyoto,
along the eastern coast.

TOKIO or TOKIYO: — eastern capital. A bastard-

Chinese name for Yedo, the capital of Japan, for which
it was substituted in 1869, when the Mikado took up
his residence there. [Pronounced with the accent on the
first syllable.] The term “eastern capital” refers to the
Bakufu days, when Kiyoto and Yedo were distinguished
as Saikiyo, western capital, and Tokiyo, there being then
two governments, one de jure at the former and one de
facto at the latter.

TOLO PALL: ^ ^ ^ . A sacred ornamental pall

believed by Buddhists to assist the progress and ensure
the happiness of their spirits in the next world. These
palls are presented by the Emperor to Manchu and
Mongol princes after death, as an especial mark of
favour, and are buried with the corpse. In the lamaseries
of Tibet, however, there are always some on hand to be
let out on hire to the public generally. F'rom the Sanskrit
word dharani a charm or spell.

TOM-TOM or TAM-TAM. A Hindi word, meaning drttm
or tambourine,

“These night watchmen, with their small gongs (q-vf
“and tom-toms, remind us very much of what we have

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297

‘‘read of the watchmen who by night guarded the streets
“of ancient Rome.” — Walks in the City of Canton,
TONES : ^ . The modulations of the voice by which Chinese
words of different meaning but of the same phonetic
value are distinguished one from the other. In the
Pekingese dialect, a corpse,, time^ to send,, and dusiness
are all pronounced shih\ but with the aid of the four
tones, these words are as unlike to the native ear as if
they were shah^ shik, shoh^ and shuh. The number of
tones varies with the dialect; some dialects possess as
many as eight or nine, but Pekingese has only four.
Even thus there are a great number of words pronounced
exactly alike' both in tone and otherwise, though written
differently; and it is often only by the requirements of
the subject, that is, the context, that the hearer is enabled
to judge of the sense.

The tones have given rise to a still-unsettled contro-
versy; many declaring that it is possible to speak Chinese
thoroughly well without any knowledge of these tones,
while others hold an exactly contrary opinion. The fallacy
here involved is obvious. A person need have no mnetnonic
knowledge of the tones, i.e.^ he need not know a word
to be of any special tone; but unless in speaking he
utters the word in its proper tone, or approximately so,
he will almost infallibly be misunderstood (see Mao-tzu)^
It is a common error to believe that a musical ear is an
aid towards distinguishing and reproducing the tones of
the various dialects, for many of the best speakers are
very deficient in that respect, and vice versa,

Down to the 3rd cent. B.C. it appears that the only
tones distinguished were the ^ even, Jb rising, and jA.
entering. Between that date and the 4th cent. A.D. the

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^ sinking tone was developed. In the i ith cent. A.D.
the even tone was divided into _h upper and lower,
and a little later the entering tone disappeared from
Pekingese. The name of Shen Yo, who died A.D.

513, is generally associated with the first systematic
classification of the Tones.

The following mnemonic stanza is often committed
to memory by Chinese who are learning the southern
Mandarin dialect: —

iS:

TOPAZ. A name applied during the 17th and i8th cent,
to half-caste Portuguese, then to soldiers of this class,
and finally to menials on board ship, such as bath-room
attendants and others.

TOPE:^^. See Sh 7 />a.

TOPEE, SOLA. A pith helmet, worn as a precaution
against sunstroke. From the Hindi s/iola, a pithy reed,
and ^opee a hat. Occasionally wrongly written solar,
because supposed to have some connexion with the sun.

The word or topz has been derived from the

Portuguese lopo “a hat,” and has been claimed as one

of the few surviving linguistic traces of Portuguese
ascendancy in India ; it is probable however that the

native term is the older of the two.

TOPOSZE : ^ ^ . The Assistant Magistrate or ^ ^

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE 299

of the T^o-p^u sub-district, resident at Swatow, though
his sub-district is situated to the west of that town.

TORI-I: ^ — bird’s dwelling. An arch or similar structure

of wood or stone, erected before the gates of Sintoo
fg.v.J temples in Japan.

TORTOISE: One of the four sacred animals of China.

The origin of Chinese writing has been fancifully traced
to the marks on its shell. See Eight Diagrams. Is an
emblem of longevity.

Vulgarly known (1) as 3 E Wang Pa, from a nickname
given by the people of his village to Wang Chien, who
after a youth spent in violence and rascality became the
founder of the Earlier Shu State, dying A.U. 918. Or
(2) as ^ /V Wang-pa, the ^creature which forgets the
eight rules of right and wrong,” from a superstitious
belief in the unchastity of the female. Hence, wa 7 igpa
is a common term of abuse, equivalent to cuckold. When
depicted on a wall, it stands for commit no nuisance.^
“if you do, you are a wang-paP being understood.
Sometimes the character is used instead, as resembling
in shape the animal referred to.

TORTURES. Of these a long list m.ight be given; they
exist, however, rather in name than in practice, the more
severe forms being absolutely prohibited, though Chinese
prisoners are occasionally , under great stress of circum-
stances, subjected to very barbarous treatment. To extort
evidence from a man, the bamboo is applied; women are
slapped on the cheeks with a flat piece of hard leather
(&♦«). Instruments for squeezing the fingers and
ankle-bones are authorised under the P enal Code., but
“any magistrate who wantonly or arbitrarily applies the
“question by torture, shall be tried for such offence; and

300 A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

where competition for place is so keen, few officials would
dare risk their career in such an unsatisfactory way.
Besides, few Chinese prisoners need more than the majesty
of the law to frighten them into either telling the truth
or swearing to a falsehood as the presiding magistrate
may require. The real tortures of a Chinese prison are
the filthy dens in which the unfortunate victims are
confined, the stench in which they have to draw breath,
the fetters and manacles by which they are secured,
absolute insufficiency even of the disgusting rations
doled out to them, and above all the mental agony
which must ensue upon imprisonment in a country with
no Habeas corpus to protect the lives and fortunes of
its citizens.

In all cases of rendition of prisoners from the colony
of Hongkong to the Chinese authorities, a guarantee is
required from the latter that at the ensuing trial no
tortures will be applied. “Many who know the punish-
“ments inflicted by the Chinese upon their criminals think
“them dreadful, but they are exceeded by those which
“David inflicted upon individuals whose only crime was
“fighting for their country (2 Sam. xii. 31).” Inman’s
Ancient Faiths.

TO-SSU-TI-’RH. The Mahommedan password in China.
Equivalent of Bismillah^ the first word of the Koran.

TOUCH: A conventional term used by assayers and

referring to the purity of silver.

TOURGOUTHS: ^ ^ A division of the Kalmucks

or Eleuth Mongols.

TOW or TOU or TU : ^ . A Chinese peck. See To.

TOWCHANG: A term from the Amoy dialect,

used in the Straits’ Settlements for cue or pigtail.

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301

TOWER OF SILENCE. A Parsi burying-ground is so
called. The Parsis do not commit their dead to the
earth, but expose corpses upon an iron grating, to the
birds of the air and to the agency of sun and dew, until
all the flesh is gone and the bones fall through into a
pit beneath.

TOWKAY : m ^ — head of the house. The common term
in the Swatow and Amoy districts for master^ whether
of a family or shop. The leading Chinese merchants, or
employers of immigrant Chinese labour in the Straits,
are called Kay-tows (q>v.).

TRANSIT PASSES. In consequence of the heavy inland
exactions to which both foreign imports and native produce
for export had been subjected by the Chinese provincial
customs’ authorities, it was agreed by the Treaties of
Nanking and Tientsin that foreign merchants should be
allowed to commute such duties by a single payment of
2V2 per cent ad valorem on such goods when imported
into or exported from China. Transit passes are the
documents which accompany such foreign-owned goods,
as a proof to the officials en route that the proper duties
have been paid. The Chinese call them (i) ^ mm
triplicate certificates^ to cover native produce for export,
and (2) ^ duty certificates^ to cover foreign imports
going up country. The system has not been found to
work satisfactorily, many foreign merchants having taken
out passes for goods owned by Chinese and thus inflicted
great injury upon the native Customs’ revenue. In the
case of imports, it may be argued that by Treaty British
manufactures should be allow to penetrate China free
of all prohibitive exactions, without reference to mere
ownership.

302

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TREASURER, THE PROVINCIAL. See Fan^^ai.

TREATIES. British,

with China (i) dated 1842

» » (2) „ 1858

» Japan „ 1858

„ Korea „ 1884

„ Siam „ 1856

TRIAD SOCIETY, THE; A Secret Society,

Still existing in China, though strictly forbidden by the
Government, the ceremonies of initiation into which present
many curious coincidences with those of P'reemasonry.
The name chosen signifies the union of Heaven, Earth
and Man, as symbolised in the character ^ ivang a king
or prince, the three horizontal lines of which are joined
together by a third. In the reign of Hsien Feng, the
Society actually went so far as to produce a cash (q.v.)^
now known to collectors under the name of the “Triad.”
On the reverse it has above the hole and © below,
besides two Manchu characters. The name of this sect
is sometimes written ^ m three rivers^ from the place
where it is said to have originated. Also known as the
Heaven and Earth Society ^ itfe ^ . Dates from the
reign Yung Cheng, 1723 — 36.

TRIMETRICAL CLASSIC: H ^ ^-three-character
classic. The first book put into the hands of a Chinese
school-boy, being a short guide to ethics, history,
science, biography, etc., all in one. So called because
arranged in rhyming sentences of three words to each.
Probably composed during the Sung dynasty by Wang
Ying-lin, otherwise known as Wang Po-hou, and conse-
quently about six hundred years old. The following is a
specimen : —

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303

The little Hsiang at nine years’ old could warm his parents’ bed —

Ah, would that all of us were by like filial precepts led !

The baby Jung when only four resigned the envied pear:

Deference to elder brothers then should be our early care.

Imitations of the Trimetrical Classic^ embodying the
leading doctrines of Christianity, have been published by
both Catholic and Protestant missionaries in China, and
a similar work was also issued by the T‘ai-p'ing rebels.

TRINITY, THE BUDDHIST. See Precious Ones, The
Three. For the Taoist Trinity, see Taois^n.

TRIPANG. Bicho-da-mar (q^v.j.

TRIPITAKA or TEPITAKA: zzi ^ — three baskets, or
collections. The triple canon of the Buddhist scriptures,
consisting of (1) the Sutras addressed to the laity, (2) the
Shdstras addressed to the devas and brahmas of the
celestial world, and (3) the Vinaya addressed to the
priesthood. Containing about 1,752,800 words in all.
These were orally preserved until the ist century B.C.
when they were committed to writing in Ceylon. In one
verse Buddha summed up the whole of his religion : —
To cease from all sin ( Vinaya) \

To get virtue (Sutras) \

To cleanse one’s own heart (Shdstras)

This is the religion of the Buddhas.

TSATLEE : — seven li. A kind of silk, so called

from the place where it is made.

TSIEN. See Ch^ien.

TSIN-SZE. See Chin-shih.

TSUBO or TSZBO: 1 ^. A Japanese land measure of 6
feet square.

TSUNG-LI YAMEN : PI — general managing

bureau. The modern Chinese Foreign Office, established
in January 1862, after the capture of Peking by the

304

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

allied forces in i860. It is a consulting body of high
Chinese officials, and forms the channel of communication
between foreign Ministers and the Throne.

TSUNG-TUH: Viceroy or Governor-General of

one or more provinces, within which he has the general
control of all affairs civil and military, subject only to
the approval of the Throne. The Viceroy is the survival
of the “noble” ^ ^0^ of feudal days, and almost as
independent as his prototype. His seal fg.v.J is oblong.

T'U SHU. See Encyclopaedias.

TUAN BESAR. “Great master,” or head of the establishment.
Used in the Straits much as Sahib in India. (Malay).

TUI-TZU: Antithetical couplets, inscribed on scrolls,

and used as wall-decorations in Chinese houses. The
following is a specimen, taken from the autograph original
of H. E. Li Hung-chang, Viceroy of the Two Kuang: —

* a M IS T 1* «

Be clear as to your duty, and then you may begin to act;
hold fast to truth, and you will be able to substantiate
your words. Move in accordance with eternal principles,
and you will profit thereby; practise self-control, and you
will find yourself in harmony with all men.

TUKANG. A Malay prefix meaning “workman,”
tukang-ayer the water workman, sc. the house-coolie.

TUNG-CHE T^UNG CHIH. '^—united rule. The
style adopted by the Emperor who reigned over China
from 1862 to 1875.

T‘UNG-CHIH: ^ A Sub-prefect often called

“second Prefect”

T‘UNG-P‘AN: A “third Prefect”^ or Assistant

Sub-prefect.

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305

TUNG WAH HOSPITAL, THE. A hospital at Hongkong
where sick Chinese are treated upon native pathological
principles and under the superintendence of their own
doctors. The influence of this institution has been brought
to bear in more than one instance on matters quite
beyond its proper sphere of action •, hence it is regarded
with no favourable eye by many European residents in
Hongkong, who object to the association with such an
establishment of any political or commercial significance
whatever. The name Tung Wah ^ signifies “ for
Chinese of the Kuang-/^^«^ province.”

T‘UNG-WEN-KUAN : ^ Otherwise known as the

“Peking College,” an establishment at the capital for
the instruction of Chinese students in the languages,
literatures, and sciences of the West, under the guidance
of foreign masters. The pupils, whose ages have been
known to vary from fifteen to fifty, receive a small
monthly allowance from the Chinese Government to induce
them to attend regularly the classes and lectures provided
for their benefit. A similar institution on a small' scale
exists at Canton under the same Chinese name -, otherwise
known as the “Chinese Government School.”

TURFAN: A Subprefecture in Outer Kansuh.

TURKOMANS or TURKMEN. Inhabit that tract of desert
land which extends on this side of the river Oxus, from
the shore of the Caspian Sea to Balkh, and from the
same river to the south as far as Herat and Astrabad.
Compounded of the proper name Turk^ and the suffix
men^ which corresponds with the English termination -ship
or -do7n. It is applied to the whole race, conveying the
idea that these nomads style themselves pre-eminently
Turks. Turkoman is a corruption of the Turkish original.

3 o 6 a glossary OF REFERENCE

TUTENAGUE- A term first applied by the Portuguese
to the spelter or zinc of China. Etymology unknown.

TWANKAY. A kind of tea from ^ T‘un-ch‘i, a town
in Anhui, whence our name. The widow in the burlesque
of “Aladdin” is known by this designation.

TWATUTIA: ^ ^ ^ 3 . — great rice drying-ground. A large
town about 1 2 miles up river from the port of Tamsui
in Formosa, where all settlements are made of the tea
which is exported from Tamsui to America.

TWO KIANG, THE: ^ Formerly denoted the two
provinces of Kiangnan and Kiangsi; now stands for
Kiangsi, and the two provinces of Anhui and Kiangsu
into which Kiangnan has been subdivided.

TWO KUANG, THE. The two provinces of Kuangtung
and Kuangsi are jointly spoken of under the

above title.

TWO-TAILED PIG, THE. A Chinese nickname for the
Siamese national emblem, the celebrated “white elephant.”
This animal is really an albino of a light mahogany
colour, and is supposed to be the incarnation of some
future Buddha.

TYCOON : — great Prince. Same as the Shogun (q.v.)

or former “temporal” Emperor of Japan, in whose hands
was all the real power. Submitted to the Mikado in 1867.
Wrongly written ^ ^ great official. The term is said to
have been coined by a preceptor of the Shogun as a
fitting title under which his master might be represented
in the Treaty with Commodore Perry, 1854. “The full
“title of the Tycoon was fiE ^ ^ 5* Sei-i-tai Shogun,

“or Barbarian-repressing Commander-in-chief. The style
“Tai Kun, Great Prince, was borrowed, in order to convey
“the idea of sovereignty to foreigners, at the time of the

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307

“conclusion of the Treaties. * * * * The title Sei-i-tai
“Shogun was first borne by Minamoto-no-Yoritomo in the
“seventh month of the year 1192 A.D.” — Mitford, Tales
of Old fapan.

TYPHOON or TYFOON. A cyclone, or revolving storm
of immense force, the speed of rotation being all the
time in an inverse ratio to that of translation, and vice
versa. Typhoons seem to be eddies formed by the meeting
of opposing currents of air, and blow in the northern
hemisphere from right to left, in the southern from left to
right. Has been derived from the Chinese 3^ JSL tai fong^
a great wind, the chief objection to which is that the
Chinese have ’ special names for the typhoon and rarely
if ever speak of it vaguely as a “great wind.” They say
^ M,, or or JilM., etc., etc.; and Dr. Hirth

has shown that the second of these, read M, tai fong^
is a local term in Formosa for the cyclone, and probably
the real source of the term. Also (2) from the Arabic
tufan^ and (3) from the Greek TUfpwv, both meaning
whirlwind,, which words however were in all probability
taken by the Greeks and Arabs from other sources.

My coursers are fed with the lightning,

They drink of the w'hirlwind’s stream:

And when the red morning is brightening,

They bathe in the fresh sunbeam;

I desire, and their speed makes night kindle;

I fear, they outstrip the typhoon'.

Ere the cloud placed on Atlas can dwindle,

We’ll encircle the earth and the moon.

Shelley.

With regard to the term JK given above, it is explained
in the ^ ^ as a literally “four quarter

wind,” the quarters being of course N. S. E. and W.
In another work we have MS ^ J|^ ^ M ^ M ifc , which
has the same meaning.

308 A GLOSSARY OR REFERENCE

TYPHOON FLY: The common dragon-fly is so

called; the presence of these insects flying round and
round in large numbers being considered as a sign of
heavy weather.

TZU-ERH-CHI : § t® ^ — the “from near” collection.
The name of Sir Thomas Wade’s well-known work for
students of the Chinese (Mandarin) language. So called
from a sentence in the Doctrine of the Mean (q.v.) which
says that the way of the superior man >6^ ^

© s may be compared with the way of one who would
travel far — he must begin from what is near; the allusion
being to the elementary and progressive nature of this
manual.

UCHAIN. The old name for Young Hyson fq.v.J tea.

ULA. A Mongol word signifying 7noMniain\ e.g. Khan-ula.

ULA GRASS : ^ of the three valuable products

of Manchuria, the other two being sables and ginseng.
It is used by the natives for wrapping round the feet
and also for stuffing mattresses.

UMBRELLA DANCE. See Fan Danee.

UMBRELLAS, RED. These in::,ignia of rank are of two
kinds, (i) the large red umbrella and (2) the

smaller red sun-shade 0 , and are both found among

the paraphernalia of civilians down to the sixth grade
inclusive. The remaining three grades should properly use
blue umbrellas; but a Chih-hsien for instance, though
only of the seventh grade, has almost invariably the brevet
rank of a T'^ung’Chih of the fifth grade, and is therefore
entitled to use a red umbrella. The military are arranged
on a slightly different scale, all below the sixth grade
being only allowed a large umbrella of ordinary make to
keep off the sun.

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309

“The court was numerous: fan-bearers on the right,
“and fan-bearers on the left, bearers of the parasol, etc.”
[From a description of the Pharaohs in Evelyn Abbott’s
Hist, of Antiquity \

The complimentary, or Ten Thousand Names Umbrella
Wa 7 i 7 ning san,^ is a large red umbrella presented
by the people to any official who may have won their
approbation of his rule. It is covered with the names of
the subscribers in gilt characters.

URH {or ERH) YA, THE: Otherwise known to

foreigners as the Literary Rxfositor , A thesaurus of terms
used in the classics and everyday life of an early period,
embellished with drawings of a great number of the
objects, explained and arranged under nineteen heads.
It has been attributed to Tzu Hsia, a well-known disciple
of Confucius, born B.C. 507, and was incorporated in the
Confucian Canon. Chu Hsi, however, whose authority on
such points is the highest available, said ^ ^ ^ W ^ "A*
we are not justified in regarding it as an ancient work.

USURY. Three per cent, per month is the maximum legal
interest in China, upon money lent under any conditions.
But the accumulated interest may never exceed the
principal. Thus, when interest which has been received
equals the principal still due, the lender should claim
such principal, and, if he wishes to continue the loan,
make a fresh start. Otherwise, the borrower may claim
every item of interest paid subsequent to that date as an
instalment towards clearing off the principal.

When money is lent for a period of years, the interest
is generally calculated as if there were only ten months to
the year. This is called ^ ^ ; according to which,

one per cent, per month would be ten per cent, per annum.

310

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

VEDAS GOLD. A kind of damask interwoven with gold
thread, and about 2 feet 2 inches in width.

VEGETARIANS; A sect, the members of which

abstain from meat, wine, and tobacco. They are violently
anti-Christian, and carried out the shocking massacre of
missionaries at Kucheng, near Foochow, in 1895.

VEILS: ® l|l| 5 . Were worn in public by Chinese women
until the reign of the first Emperor of the Sui dynasty,
A.D. 605 — 618, who abolished them and substituted a
kind of turban. Veils have always been worn by brides
from the very earliest ages.

VERMILION PENCIL: A Minute or Rescript,

endorsed in red ink, nominally by the Emperor himself,
on all documents submitted to the Sacred Glance. The
following specimens are copies from the Treaties of
Nanking and Tientsin, respectively: ^ ^

and ^ , signifying the Imperial consent

to the two instruments in question. It is worthy of note
that the sign-manual of the old Emperors of Delhi was
written with red ink.

VICEROY. See Tsungdu,

VIHARA. A Buddhist monastery.

VINAYA : ^ — law. One of the divisions of the Buddhist
canon (see Tripitakd)^ containing the rules for ecclesiastical
discipline and so on.

VINEGAR, TO CHOW-CHOW. Pidgin-English equivalent
of to be jealous. This phrase is merely a literal translation
of the Chinese metaphorical expression the origin

of which will be found in Chinese Sketches.^ p. 68.

In the deed of gift by which a Chinese child is transferred
from its parents to another person, will be generally seen
an item of so many dollars or taels payable by the

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311

transferee as “ginger and vinegar money.” This phrase
is used by synecdoche for the whole expenses of bringing
up the child- and is derived from the fact that every
Chinese mother is presented, immediately after parturition,
with a draught of ginger and vinegar, the former of
which is supposed to prevent her catching cold, and the
latter to increase the needful supply of milk.

VISAYA or BISAYA The aboriginal dialect of the
southern Philippines. See Tagal.

VISITS, OF'FICIAL. Superiors notify their subordinates of
an intended visit, so that the latter may be ready to
receive them. Subordinates simply go and await their
turn to be admitted. It is not etiquette for equals to
notify each other beforehand of their visits; hence a delay
at the gate while the host is putting on his ceremonial
dress. These rules do not apply to foreign officials who
are regarded as “guests.” A convenient method of calling
on an official much inferior in rank is to stop

at his door, send in a card, and pass on. Foreign officials
may also avail themselves of this plan for “saving the
face” of an officer on whom they could not well call in
the ordinary way. See Etiquette.

WAGAKUSHA. A term for Japanese scholars especially
devoted to the native learning and religion of Japan, as
opposed to the Kangakusha (q.v.).

WAILO or WHILO. Pidgin-English for “Go away!” From
the Cantonese sounds of ^ be off!

WAI-SING WEFSING LOTTERY:^ *4 —examination
names. A kind of sweepstakes, once a very popular form
of gambling among the Cantonese, on the result of the
public examination for the second degree; the holder of
a successful candidate’s name being the winner of a

312 A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

greater or less sum according to position on the published
list. Being now strictly prohibited in Canton, the lottery
is still organised in Macao, whence tickets are smuggled
in large numbers to brokers in the former city for
distribution. Winning tickets are not paid unless their
price has previously reached Macao.

WAI-YUN WEI-YUAN: ^ M —deputed officer. An
officer of any rank deputed to perform certain duties.

WAMPEE or WHAMPEE: ^ ^ — yellow skin. A fruit
found in Southern China.

WANLI or WENLI : ^ 311 . Style; composition. Read
man-li in the south. Missionaries speak of Bibles trans-
lated into the book-language, as written in “wen-li,” to
distinguish them from translations into the colloquial.

WAN-SHOU SHAN: ^ # li|— hill of an old age of
10,000 years. The hill near which the palace of Ylian-
ming-yiian (q.v.) once stood, Wan-shou being a figurative
expression for the Imperial birthday. The Emperor is
commonly spoken of as ^ ^ ^ “Lord of io,ooo years,”
i.e.^ of all the ages; while “Lord of i,ooo years” is a
title given to the Heir Apparent.

WANG: a prince.

WANG-HAI-LOU:i| ‘^ 1 #— Sea-view Pavilion. A fanciful
name, very commonly given by the Chinese to any
ornamental building which commands a view over sea,
lake, river, or other piece of water.

WARAJIS: Japanese straw sandals.

WAR TAX. See Likin,

WATER CLOCK. See Clepsydra,

WAYONG. The Malay word for “theatre.” Used in the
Straits much as sing-song in China.

WEAPONS. See Arms,

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313

WEI-CH‘I: — surrounding checkers. A complicated

Chinese game played with a checker-board and counters,
and said to have been invented by the Emperor Yao,
two thousand years B.C. An analysis of the elements
of wei-chH appeared in the Temple Bar magazine for
January 1877.

WEI-HAI-WEI : A strongly fortified place at

the point of the Shantung promontory. Surrendered to
the Japanese by Admiral Ting, who forthwith committed
suicide, 7th Feb. 1895, finally leased by China to

England in April 1898.

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.

Weight.

16 ^ taels = I JF^ catty (q.v.).

100 catties = I picul

120 „ = I ^ stone.

Long Measure.

10 ^ fin - I ts'-UTi (inch).

10 tS^U 7 l = I R c/i'-ih (foot == 1 4. 1 English inches or 0.3581 metres).*

'°R ch^lh »= I chang.

Money.

10 hu = I ^ ssu.

10 ssH — I hao.

10 ^ hao = I li (see likin').

10 if" =x# fen (candareen).

10 fen = I chl-ien (mace).

10 hi- ten— I Hang (tael).

I As fixed by Treaty. The Chinese foot measure varies in different places and
in different trades. The tailor’s foot is the longest, the metropolitan foot about »/io
of an inch less, and the Canton foot between the two.

314

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

Capacity.

lO ho = I sheng (pint),

lo sheng = I ton (peck),

lo tou = 1 shih.

Land Measure.

4 chio = I aX mou — 26.73 sq. poles.

100 viou = I ch''ing .3 16.7 acres.

WENCHOW; — warm region. A port on the coast

of Chehkiang, opened to trade by the Chefoo Agreement
of 1876.

WEN SHU : The Indian Manjusri, a famous

Bodhisatva, worshipped in China as the God of Wisdom,
and popularly depicted as riding on a lion, the symbol
of bravery.

WHAMPOA: ^ — yellow reach. Strictly speaking the

port of Canton, from which it is about 1 2 miles distant.
That foreign steamers proceed farther up the river than
this point is a privilege accorded by the Chinese authorities
in the interests of trade, and might be taken away at
a moment’s notice by the Superintendent of Maritime
Customs. [Rule IX., Special Local Regulations.] Sailing
vessels still continue to discharge cargo here.

WHANGHEES: Canes of all kinds.

WHEEL KING or Chakravarti. A King who rules the
world, and causes the wheel of doctrine everywhere to
revolve. The Sanskrit word is from chakra wheel, the
symbol of activity.

WHITE ANTS: Q The popular, but incorrect, name ^
for termites., a genus of insect distinct from the ant,
though the two are somewhat similar in their habits.

I It is a curious fact that the Chinese name for this insect is also white ant.

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

315

Attracted by lights, they fly into houses after nightfall,
and shed their wings all over the place. By putting a
plate of water near the lamp, they may be caught in
large numbers. The chief mischief they do is, in the larva
stage, by eating up all the wood that falls in their way,
getting into houses and gradually consuming the largest
beams and rafters until at length the building falls with
a crash. They will not, however, touch camphor wood;
neither do they like the light of day; but all clothes’
boxes, pianos, etc., should be raised on bricks covered
with lime to prevent them crawling up, and should be
carefully examined from time to time. “An American
“ flag-staff, th<! pride of an Oregon forest, was soon after its
“erection honeycombed and prostrated by that omnivorous
“destroyer. It is commonly believed that wherever a
“poison is found growing, an antidotal plant will be found
“not far off. This is paralleled by noxious insects — the
“white ant for example has an enemy in a small black
“ant to which it affords support. A singular battle was
“observed the other day, between two columns of these
“insects, if that can be called a battle where all the
“injury that was inflicted was suffered by one side. The
“black ants seized and carried off the white ones, if not
“without remonstrance on the part of the latter, at any
“rate without resistance. Tobacco is virulent poison to the
“white ant. A colony lately invaded a box of cheroots,
“which on being opened showed that the cigars had
“proved fatal to them instantaneously, as none of them
“had let go their hold of the tobacco.” — Dr, Macgowan,
WHITE COCK. Is carried with coffins on the way to
interment, “under the belief that this bird alone can guide
the ghost to its destination.” Williams,

3 i 6 a glossary OF REFERENCE

“The Chinese cannot explain the origin of this custom.”

Doolittle,

At the oath-taking previous to initiation into the Triad
Society a white cock is killed. Its death is sym-

bolical of the death of the candidate to the influences of
the outside world, previous to his re-birth as a just and
upright man and a brother. The cock is chosen because
of its vigilance,, and its white colour is emblematical of
purity of heart.

WHITE ELEPHANT. See Two-tailed Pig.

WHITE LILY SECT: ^ 31 ^. Name of a well-known
Chinese secret society, the exact origin of which is not
known. A White Lily society was formed in the 2nd
cent. A.D. by a Taoist patriarch named Liu I-min, and
1 8 members used to assemble at a temple in modern
Kiangsi for purposes of meditation. But this seems to
have no connection with the later sect, of which we first
hear in 1308 when its existence was prohibited, its shrines
destroyed, and its votaries forced to return to ordinary
life. The father of the famous Han Lin-erh, who died in
1367, was executed for his adherence to the fraternity, the
members of which are believed to possess a knowledge
of the black art.

WHITE PIGEON: Q A kind of lottery, the simplest
form of which is organised as follows. Out of twenty
given characters, the players each choose ten, as inscribed
upon a ticket for which they pay 5 cash. Then the banker
chooses ten ; and to any one whose ticket contains five
of these, he pays 6 cash; if six, 76 cash; if seven, 750
cash; if eight, Tls. 2.50; if nine, Tls. 5; if ten, Tls. 10.
The game is said to be so called because gamblers who
lived inside the city of Canton were in the habit, when

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317

visiting by night the gambling-houses outside the city, of
taking with them white pigeons which they flew from
time to time to let their families know the result.

WIGOUR. See Outgour.

WILLOW PATTERN. The origin of this design is not
known. It has been explained as portraying the secret
love of a young lady for her father’s secretary, discovery,
flight, pursuit of relentless parent, and finally transformation
of the lovers into two turtle-doves. The name is further
said to have been adopted because the flight took place
at the time when the willow sheds its leaves. Unfortunately,
the turtle-dove is not regarded by the Chinese as an
emblem of fidelity in love.

WILLS: ^ ^ — in the European sense of the term, that is
to say documents controlling the devolution of a dead man’s
property, are quite unknown in China. Theoretically, all
property belongs, not to an individual, but to the family
of which he is a member, and at his death goes by law
to his male children in equal shares, or failing them, to
collaterals in a certain definite and well-known order.
Final instructions are often delivered either verbally or
in writing, but these refer generally to minor details and
would not avail to vary the normal devolution unless
acquiesced in by the interested survivors.

WINE: V@ . A conventional name for the ardent spirit
distilled from the yeasty liquor in which boiled rice has
fermented under pressure for many days. See Santshoo
and Grape,

WONSAN. See Gensan.

WORLD-HONOURED, THE: tft:#:. Buddha fy.v.J.

WRITING, ART OF. See Characters and Shuo Win.

WRITTEN PAPER, RESPECT FOR. See Paper.

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318

WU-CHOU FU: A Treaty Port on the West

River in Kuangtung.

WUHU: ^ 1 ^ — weedy lake. A port on the river Yang-
tsze, in the province of An-hui, opened to trade by the
Chefoo Agreement of 1876.

WUNK : — yellow dog. A term commonly applied by

foreigners to the ordinary Chinese dog. From the Ningpo
pronunciation, wou”^ kyi^ of the above two characters.

WU-SHIH-SHAN : 5 1 -U — black rock hill. A hill within

the city of Foochow, about 300 feet in height, upon
which stands a residence of the British Consul.

The “ Wu-shih-shan Case” was an action brought in
1879 by the directors of a temple on this hill against
the Rev. J. Wolfe to define the rights of the parties to
certain land occupied by the defendant. It was then
decided that if rent is owing, a Chinese landlord can
take back his premises. If no rent is owing, he cannot
let them to any one else; but he can always resume
possession, if he wants the premises for his own use, by
giving reasonable notice.

WU-SUNG or WOOSUNG: . A town at the mouth

of the Hwang-poo river, the approach to Shanghai. Above
it is situated the celebrated “Woosung Bar,” which is said
to be silting up fast and gradually closing the mouth of
the river, and has long formed a serious obstacle to the
movements of large steamers. The Chinese Government
steadily refuse to dredge this bar, alleging that it would be
an evil policy thus to deprive Shanghai of its “ Heaven-sent
Barrier” — one of its natural and most effectual means
of defence. The bar is sometimes called “Shanghai’s
Shame.”

XANADU. A corruption of Shang-tu Jt ^ “imperial

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319

capital,” the summer residence of Kublai Khan, about
1 80 miles north of Peking.

In Xanadu did Kubla Khan

A stately pleasure dome decree :

Where Alph, the sacred river, ran,

By caverns measureless to man,

Down to a sunless sea.

Coleridge.

The river here mentioned has generally been regarded
as an invention of the poet. Mr. W. H. Wilkinson
however speaks of a great cave at Fang-shan, beyond
Peking, “that runs no one knows how far underground,
for a subterranean river stops the way.”

XAVIER, St. FRAN(J 0 IS. The first Roman Catholic
missionary to China. He never set foot on the mainland,
but died at ±jilU) Sancian Island or St. John’s near
Macao, 1552, aged 46. The native maps indicate the
existence of his tomb on this island by the words ^ A S
“Saint’s grave,” though he was actually buried at Goa.
YACONIN YAKUNIN:^ A- Any official employe
of the Japanese Government.

YADOYA. A Japanese inn.

YAKOOB BEG: it The celebrated Mussulman

conqueror and Ameer of Kashgaria, which country he
held in subjection for 1 2 years, until he either died or
was assassinated at Korla in the early part of May 1877,
after which Kashgaria was reconquered by the Chinese.
Born 1820. See Athalik Ghazi.

YAK’S-TAIL. The tail of the Tibetan ox used as

a fly-flapper. See Chowry,

YALU: ^!| ^. A river in the north of Korea, at the
mouth of which the Japanese gained a great naval victory
over the Chinese, 17th Sept. 1894. At the same time

320 A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

the Japanese vessels were so severely injured that they
could not follow in pursuit.

YAMATO: ^0 (formerly ^ The name of the

province in which was situated the old capital of Japan.
Now used for the whole empire of Japan.

YAMBU: 7C ^ Corruption of yiian-pao^ a large shoe of
sycee. Thus pronounced in Central Asia.

YAMUN or YAMEN : ^ PV The official and private
residence of any Mandarin who holds a seal. Offices of
petty mandarins who have no seals are ^ ^)x Kung so,
public places. The isolated wall before the entrance gate
( ^ ^ shadow wall) is placed there as a bar to all
noxious influences, which are supposed to travel only
in straight lines (see Feng-sh 74 t)'^ and the huge animal
painted on the inside so as to attract the attention of
the mandarin every time he leaves his Yamen, is the
t^an the accursed beast avarice, against which he is
thus duly warned. Sometimes an enormous red sun is
depicted on the “shadow wall.” It is typical of the pure
and bright principle yang ^ (see Yin and Yang) •, and
daily suggests to the inmates of the place the desirability
of making their administration pure likewise.

YANG-KING-PANG: 7^ A creek at Shanghai

between the British and French Concessions.
YANG-KWEI-TSZE;7^ ^ ^ — foreign devil. ^^^Kwei-tszc.

YANG-TSZE KIANG: % [or ^ river of Yang-
tsze, ^ ^ being the old name of a district. Has been
erroneously translated “Son of the Ocean,” from the
first character being wrongly written ^ , and is often
spoken of (^Illustrated London News, 8th Dec., 1878) as
the “ Yang-tsze-kiang river.” Is also familiarly known to
the Chinese as the Long River jX., and as fL the

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321

River. The Chinese consider the |l(ft , which enters
the Yang-tsze near Hsu-chou Fu in Ssuch‘uan, as the
main stream, and not the Chin-sha river. See River of
Golden Sand.

The Valley of the Yang-tsze, including the richest
provinces of Central China and now regarded as the
legitimate sphere of British influence, was in 1891 the scene
of serious anti-foreign riots, two British subjects being killed
and many houses and churches being destroyed at various
important centres.

YAO and SHUN : ^ Two monarchs of antiquity, held
up by the Chinese as models of piety and virtue. Yao
came to the throne B.C. 2356 and reigned until 2280,
when he abdicated in favour of Shun whom he took
from the plough-tail, to the exclusion of his own profligate
son, solely on account of Shun’s reputation for filial
piety and brotherly affection. According to Mr. Kingsmill,
Yao is the Ouranos and Varuna of Greek and Indian
mythologies.

YASHIKI. A Daimio’s feudal mansion.

YAYSOO. See Yeh-soo.

YEAR. See Moon.

The Chinese day is divided into 1 2 hours of 1 20
minutes each. The months are lunar., and are spoken
of as “moons’" Twelve of them go to the year,

except every third year which has thirteen, an intercalary
fg>v.J month being inserted to make up the difference
with the solar year. Some months have 29, others 30
days. There are four seasons, which begin and end on
certain days; and the year is subdivided into 24 solar
terms, of which the more important are: —

I- JUL ^ — the beginning of spring. Falls about the

322 A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

5th February, and is kept as a festival in honour of
agriculture, an ox being led in procession through the
towns and villages. On the day before, the Prefect is
carried in state to perform certain acts of worship, and
every mandarin, high or low, is bound to yield the way.
Consequently, the higher officials never leave their yamens
on that day.

2* 59 — clear and bright. Falls about the 5th April,

and is the day on which the Chinese visit their ancestral
burying-places.

3. 5 ^ — summer solstice. Falls about the 21st June,
and is devoted by the mandarins to acts of congratulation
at the spiritual shrine of the Emperor. See Te 7 nples.

4. — frost descends. Falls about the 23rd October,
and is generally spent by the military in reviews and
martial exercises.

5 — winter solstice. Falls about the 22nd

December. Ceremonies as at the summer solstice.

6. 3 ^ 1 ^ — great cold. Falls about the 21st January,
On this day it is lawful for all who choose to commit
to the ground their still unburied relatives, the ordinary
course being to select some propitious date.

The chief Chinese festivals are the New Year, when
all business is at a temporary standstill, the Feast of
Lanterns (q>v,)^ and the Dragon-boat festival (q>v.).

YEDDO or YEDO: ^ — river’s door. Formerly written

yeddo^ according to the Dutch orthography. Same as
Tokio (q^v,).

YEH, GOVERNOR: The infamous Viceroy of

the two Kuang provinces, who was captured at the
bombardment of Canton in December 1858 by the
Allied Forces, and banished to Calcutta where he shortly

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323

afterwards died. [See Arrow.] He is said to have beheaded
as many as 70,000 of the T‘ai-p‘ing rebels who fell into
his hands. His father was a petty druggist at Hankow
and of a very religious turn of mind.

YEH-SOO: ^ 1 ^ — ^Jesus. Thus written in K‘ang Hsi’s
lexicon, and explained “said by

western nations to have been born to save mankind.”
The name of a once well-known steamer, the Vesso, was
thus w'ritten in Chinese upon the paddle-boxes, until the
attention of the owners was called to the impropriety of
such a term. See Protestant and Roman C. Missionaries.

YEIGWA MONOGATARI = A tale of glory. The first
history in the Japanese language. It covers about two
centuries, ending with A.D. 1088.

Y6LANG: A common term in Canton for an

auction. Probably from the Portuguese leilao, through
the Malayan lelang which means auction, as seen more
markedly in the Swatow variation 1 ^ loy-lang^ actually
pronunced lelang in Amoy.

YELLOW CAPS, THE REVOLT OF THE; ^ r|l M-
A rebellion which broke out A.D. 184 towards the close
of the Han dynasty, and resulted in the final division of
the empire into the Three Kingdoms. So called from
the yellow caps or turbans worn by the insurgents. The
actual rebellion was subdued by Liu Pei and his brother-
members of the Peach-Orchard Confederation (q>v.),
YELLOW EMPEROR. See Hwang Ti(a).

YELLOW FLAGS. See Black Flags.

YELLOW GIRDLE. See Girdle.

YELLOW JACKET. See Ma^kwa.

YELLOW RIVER. See Hoang-ho.

YELLOW SEA. The sea which washes the eastern coast

324 A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

of China is so called, from the yellow colour of its water,
“saturated with the loam of 1,500 miles away” brought
down by the river Yangtsze.

YEN: Japanese term for a dollar.

YESSO or YEZO. The northern island of the Japanese
empire.

YIH KING. See Changes^ Book of,

YIN AND YANG: North and south banks of a

river-, light and shade-, male and female- natural and
supernatural, etc. The primeval forces from the interaction
of which all things have been evolved. Expressed thus
€) by the Chinese, the dark half being the yin or female
principle; the light yang or male. “The simplest form

“of matter would be the dot From the dot then

“all things took their rise-, the germ in the centre of the
“egg from which the world had sprung. But the dot was
“not sufficient to express the spreading universe he saw

“on every side How could it be made appear? The

“answer followed, by the secret of existence: limitation

“The circle was the natural symbol (suggested perhaps
“by the horizon), beginning and ending in itself simply,
“and equally confining all within it; the circle round the
“dot expressed sufficiently the first great thought and

“gave him tools to work with and the new thought

“struck him that if the central germ must spread, ere
“it could do so it must lose its unity: without .division
“there could be no life. He altered his symbol: instead
“of the central spot he now drew two.” — Alabaster.
See Doctrine of the ChH.

YO-CHOU : ^ . A Treaty Port in Hunan.

YOJANA. A measure of distance, said to be either four
or eight goskalas, a goshala being the distance at

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE 325

which the bellowing of a bull can be heard, or nearly
two miles.

Such space as man may stride with lungs once filled,
Whereof a gow is forty, four times that
A yojana.

Arnold’s Light of Asia.

YOKOHAMA: A port in Japan.

YONI:? §1 . See Linga.

YOROSHII: Jit. Can do^ good; O. K. etc. Much used by
foreigners in Japan.

YOSHIWARA: formerly^ JM rush-ground, from the number
of rushes growing there, now * the abode of joy.
A large enclosure at Tokio, consisting of 2 square oho
of land, where may be seen

Famae non nimium bonae puellae
Quales in medi& sedent Suburb.

It is similar to the Tzopvsta of the Greeks, established
by Solon, and was first opened in A.D. 1626 with the
consent of the Government, the idea being to remove a
necessary evil so far as possible from the public eye.
The Yoshiwara is also known as ^ IK the Nightless
City, and contains about 3,000 women. See Hadaka-odori
and yon-nuke.

YOURT. A Mongol tent or encampment.

YU, THE GREAT : ^ • A semi-mythological hero

and Emperor who flourished twenty-three centuries before
Christ, and drained the empire from a great flood, which
has been identified by some with the Biblical Deluge.
See Tablet of Yu,

YUAN DYNASTY: ^ — original dynasty. Founded by

the Mongol conqueror Kublai Khan (q^v.) A.D. 1280;
ended 1368.

326 A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

YUAN-MING-YUAN : |Bj ^ — round bright garden.

Formerly the summer residence of the Emperors of China,
lying about 9 miles from Peking. Destroyed by the Allied
Forces in i860, out of revenge for the ill-treatment of
a number of European prisoners captured by the Chinese.
We need make no apology for introducing here the
following clever verses, written by Mr. E. C. Baber in
imitation of W. S. Gilbert’s celebrated ballad “Brave Alum
Bey.”^ Flat and unintelligible to a new arrival, these lines
are, to an older resident in the Far East, full of exquisitely
turned burlesque ; and they constitute, moreover, an apt
illustration of Anglo-Oriental terms in general.

In Yuen-ming-yuen., all gaily arrayed
In malachite kirtles and slippers of jade,

’Neath the wide-spreading tea-tree, fair damsels are seen
All singing to Joss on the soft candareen.

But fairer by far was the small-footed maid
Who sat by my side in the sandal-wood shade,

A-sipping the vintage of sparkling Lychee,

And warbling the songs of the poet Maskee.

Oh fair are the flowers in her tresses that glow.

The sweet-scented cumshaw, the blue pummelow,

And dearest I thought her of maids in Pekin,

As from the pagoda she bade me chin-chin.

One eve, in the twilight, to sing sh' began,

As I touched the light notes of a jewelled sampan.

While her own jetty finger-nails, taper and long.

Swept softly the chords of a tremulous gong.

She sang how “a princess of fair Pechelee
“Was carried away by the cruel Sycee,

“And married by force to that tyrant accurst,

“That Portuguese caitiff, Pyjamah the First.

“Tho’ her eyes were more bright than the yaconin’s glow,

“And whiter than bucksheesh her bosom of snow,

“Yet alas for the maid! she is captive, and now
“Lies caged in thy fortress, detested Macao.

I “Each morning he went to his garden to cull
“A branch of zenana or sprig of bul-bul,

“And offered the bouquet, in exquisite bloom,

“To Bucksheesh, the daughter of Rabat Lakoum.”

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

327

“But she muffled her face in her sohotzu’s fold,

“And the gaoler she bribed with a tao-f-ai of gold,

“And away she is fled from the traitor’s hareem,

“Tho’ the punkahs may flash, and the compradores gleam.”

Thus she ceased ; — and a bumper of opium we took.

And we smoked the ginseng from a coral chibouque.

And we daintily supped upon birds’ nests and snails.

And catties, and maces, and piculs, and taels.

Then we slew a joss-pigeon in honour of Fo,

And in praise of Feng-shui we made a kotow;

And soon the most beautiful girl in Pekin
Fell asleep in the arms of her own mandarin.

YULOH, TO. To scull a boat with an oar at the stern.
From the Shanghai pronunciation of yao to work ^
lu an oar. Hence the Shanghai sampan or passenger-boat
is often called - a yuloh.

YUNG CHENG: ^ iE — concord and rectitude. The style
of reign adopted by the third Emperor of the present
dynasty, 1723 — 1736.

YUNNAN : ^ ^ — south of the clouds. One of the Eighteen
Provinces, only recently recovered from the Panthays (q.v,).
Capital city Yunnan Fu Old name Vft Tien,

Fogs hang like a permanent dividing-line upon the verge
of the Ssuch‘uan highlands; and these misty clouds give
the name to the southern province beyond, — Yunnan.
YUNNAN OUTRAGE, THE. The murder of Mr. Margary
at Manwyne, a small town on the extreme south-west
frontier of China. Mr. Margary had been deputed to
meet an expedition sent by the Government of India
to explore a new trade-route into China via Burmah, and
had already made a splendidly successful journey from
Hankow on the Yang-tsze right across to Burmah, where
he actually joined the expedition; but volunteering to
proceed ahead in order to ascertain the truth of some
unfavourable rumours, he was set upon and murdered in

328

A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE

February 1875. The instigators and perpetrators of this
deed escaped detection.

ZAYTON ZAITUN TAITUN. Col. Yule makes
this city the modern Chinchew Fu:^ ^ fl^near Amoy, and
suggests that from it is derived our word satin (which
has also been derived from ^ ^ ssu tuan silks and
satins) : but Mr. G. Phillips maintains that it should
rather be identified with Chang-chou Fu

ZEALANDIA, FORT. A stronghold on the S. E. coast
of Formosa, 2V2 miles from the capital city, formerly
known as T‘aiwan Fu. Was built by the Dutch in
1630, before their final expulsion by Koxinga fg-v.J.
See Dutch Forts.

ZEHOL. See Jehol.

ZEN. The miniature Japanese dining-table, supplied to
each person at meals.

ZEND A VEST A. The Sacred Book of Zoroastrianism or
the ancient religion of the Parsees. From zend or zand
Commentary and avesta the Law, — the Law and the
Commentary.

ZENGHIS. See Genghis.

ZICAWEI. See Sicawei.

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